


sight of the sun

by hyungsobbing



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Alternate Universe - College/University, Childhood Friends, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Mentions of other ships, Minor Changlix - Freeform, ofc hyunjin idolises jinyoung
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-29
Updated: 2019-05-25
Packaged: 2019-07-20 05:37:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 19,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16130753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hyungsobbing/pseuds/hyungsobbing
Summary: years pass, but hyunjin has never been able to forget the boy he left behind in his childhood.





	1. do you remember when we stayed up, til the sun stretched through the room?

_part i, Busan_

 

The assistant train operator ushers him off the carriage, brown hair sweeping over his eyes as he reaches up to pull Hyunjin’s travel luggage out of the overhead compartment. It couldn’t be heavier than 20 pounds but to Hyunjin, it was heavy enough that he could barely drag it along. “Thank you, mister.” He smiles.

 

“Have fun in Busan! Don’t get lost on your way out.” The older boy ruffles Hyunjin’s hair and pushes him gently in the direction of the exit. Excitedly, Hyunjin weaves through the crowd. He’s barely at the shoulders of most of the commuters, but he’s not going to let that little fact deter his excitement of being in a new city.

 

Just beyond the fare gates, he spots someone waving at him, trying to catch his attention. “Aunt Seulgi!” He shouts, and his aunt relaxes, smiling at him.

 

When he reaches his aunt’s side, she scoops him up with an arm, kissing his forehead. “Hyunjinnie! I’m so glad you’re here, I waited so long for you to come!” She coos. “Ah, you can’t do that! I’m too old to be carried.” Hyunjin pouts, struggling weakly in his aunt’s arms.

 

“Oh, I forgot! Our Hyunjin is a big boy now.” His aunt laughs, setting him down gently on the floor and picking up the luggage. “Are you excited to be here?”

 

Hyunjin beams from ear to ear. “Yes!”

 

-

 

When Hyunjin is twelve, his parents decide to send him to his aunt in Busan. Twelve is the age where most kids begin to play pretend at being grown-ups and some start their early stages of teenage rebellion. Instead, at twelve, Hyunjin was preoccupied with the early stages of building shrines for Park Jinyoung or chasing Felix and Jisung around the playground near their homes.

 

But having only one child, it was typical of his parents to worry about him getting into trouble over the summer holidays as they left for their overseas work trip. “I can handle myself! I could even go over to Felix’s house if I need anything, Mrs Lee will help me.” Hyunjin protests.

 

“We know you can take care of yourself, but we’re worried. How are you going to get your meals? You can’t be going over to next door three times a day and then again at night because you’re scared of sleeping alone in the house.” His mother reasons patiently, and Hyunjin hates that she’s right.

 

Frowning, Hyunjin mumbles, “They won’t mind.” But he knows it’s a lost cause—and it _is_ true that he hates being alone at home. His father raises an eyebrow and Hyunjin concedes, sinking back into the smooth leather of the couch, arms crossed. “Where will I even stay?”

 

“Aunt Seulgi says she’s more than willing to take you in for the whole summer.” His dad speaks up. Hyunjin lights up. He hasn’t seen his aunt in three years ever since she moved out of the city for a job. Plus, she has a dog, which his current landlord never allowed in their apartment. “I’ll stay with her?” He asks eagerly.

 

His parents exchange a fond look. “Yes. And Busan is an amazing city, it’ll be so fun that you’ll never want to come back to boring old Seoul.”

 

“When am I leaving?” Other than the obvious necessities, he still has to pack the albums lining the shelves in his room _and_ the posters on his wall. He can’t possibly go three months without them. “The week after. It’s enough time for you to pack.” His mom says, winking like she’s read his mind. Hyunjin laughs, a spark of excitement forming.

 

-

 

Hyunjin had expected his aunt’s house to look like something out of a history book, with sliding doors made of paper and traditional decoration, but her the interior of her house looked like any house in Seoul.

 

Located at the bend of the street, the house was a double-story detached terrace with potted flowers at the front gate. “When my rich ex-boyfriend moved out, he left a lot of his things at our shared apartment. I pawned all of his jewelry and sold the place so I could buy a new house.” She explains, unlocking the gate. “If not I’d probably be stuck paying off student loans years into my job.”

 

“Your tenth ex-boyfriend?” Hyunjin asks innocently. She turns around and ruffles his hair fondly, laughing. “You know me too well, Hyunjinnie.”

 

He gets a room with a window spanning across the length of the wall, and he climbs up to the window seat eagerly. Outside his window is a meadow, the colorful flowers and grass stretching out for miles. A narrow stream cuts through the field, and he cranes his head to see where the stream leads to but he can’t see much from the confines of his room.

 

There’s a faint sound of scratching at the closed door, and Hyunjin turns around quickly, alarmed. Then the thing outside his door barks, and he grins, running to push the door open. A blur of black and white runs inside the room, yipping. “Kkami!” He kneels down on the floor, holding his arms out. The puppy burrows into his shirt, sniffing curiously. “Aw, did you miss me?” He coos, hugging her.

 

Kkami whines softly, nudging his chin. “I’ll take that as a yes,” He murmurs, running his fingers through her smooth fur.

 

“I think she likes you more than me, and I’m her owner.” His aunt says, leaning against the doorframe. “I think so too.” He giggles as Kkami noses into the crook of his neck.

 

“Brat.” She says without any malice, and Hyunjin realises that his parents were right about him falling in love with Busan.

 

-

 

“I’m heading out for work, okay? I’ll be back before dinner and you can order in for lunch, money is on the counter. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Aunt Seulgi says, patting Hyunjin on the head as she grabs her car keys off the table. “Yeah,” He says drowsily, head drooping dangerously close to his cereal.

 

The door clicks shut behind her, and Hyunjin yelps when something furry brushes up against his leg. He looks down to see Kkami rubbing up against his leg like a cat. “You’re a dog, not a cat.” He tells her, amazed at how light and tiny the dog is while scooping her up on his lap. Kkami licks his bowl and Hyunjin lets her eat the rest of his soggy cereal. “Don’t tell Aunt,” He mumbles, resting his head on the table.

 

After breakfast, he decides he should go out to explore the area. Pocketing the house keys, he slips out of the door, Kkami following closely at his heels. He wanders around the neighbourhood, taking note that all the houses were off different designs—some were tiny cottages but others were large, fancy-looking mansions that reached up to five levels. Buildings in Seoul had mostly been apartments, tall structures which crammed up to thirty families together. He decides that people in Busan were rich people.

 

After a while of walking aimlessly, he remembers the meadow behind his house. It seemed like a short distance from his window, but he can’t seem to find the meadow. He turns the bend, trying to figure out which way to go. It occurs to him that he probably shouldn’t go too far because he’d get lost, but the want to see the meadow in real life overcomes the sensible voice in his head.

 

Eventually, he does find the meadow, but only because he’d followed Kkami until seeing a speck of bright colours in the distance. “Good dog,” He pats her head and Kkami pants, tongue lolling out of her mouth in response.

 

The meadow is much prettier when he’s standing right in the middle, with the flowers brushing against his leg and the grass under his feet. The temperature is just right in the Busan summer, not too hot but not too cold either. He picks his way carefully across the meadow, trying not to trample on any flowers. When he reaches a clear patch of grass, he breaks into a run, wind whipping through his hair.

 

He runs to the stream, jumping over it in one fluid motion. He follows the slow flow of water until it reaches a large cluster of trees, and the stream widens as it flows into the middle of the trees. Slowing down, he steps into the shade. The density of the trees seems to increase as he walks further down the stream, and when he steps past a certain point, he gasps in wonder.

 

There’s a creek in the middle of the trees, water trickling over stones. Tree branches hang over the water, tips of the vines dipping into the creek. “Woah,” He breathes out, eyes wide as he takes in the sight in front of him. Kkami barks in agreement, and takes off into the water, her paws splashing the clear creek water on him. “Hey!” He laughs, watching as Kkami hops from from stone to stone.

 

The trees rustle behind him, and he doesn’t take notice of it at first. Then a twig snaps, and he spins around, stepping back slightly. “Who’s there?” He calls out. No one replies, and Hyunjin scans the area in front of him. “Hello…?”

 

“I’m right here.” Someone replies, and Hyunjin turns around. There’s a boy standing beside a tree, looking at Hyunjin curiously. He’s not much shorter than Hyunjin, with dark brown hair. “Hi!” Hyunjin says with a smile, the one he always uses in school when he wants to make new friends.

 

The boy, apparently, did not share the same sentiments. He squints at Hyunjin. “Who are you?”

 

“I’m Hwang Hyunjin! You?” He says cheerfully. “I’ve never seen you before, and this is a small neighbourhood.” The boy eyes Hyunjin with slight distrust.

 

“Oh, I just moved in with my aunt. I’m staying here for the summer break.” Hyunjin replies, smile not dropping from his face. He’s not going to spend the entire holiday by himself—no matter how pretty the city is, he might die of boredom—so he’s determined to make friends.

 

“I see.” The boy mumbles. “What’s your name?” Hyunjin repeats.

 

He pauses for a while, as if assessing Hyunjin. “I’m Kim Seungmin.”

 

 _Seungmin,_ Hyunjin tests it out in his head. It’s a nice name, objectively. Hyunjin sits down on a rock, patting the space beside him. “So, you’re a Busan native?” He asks.

 

Seungmin seems to hesitate for a moment before walking over and sitting down, leaving a gap between them. “Obviously not. Can’t you tell? I don’t have the cool Busan accent.” He says matter-of-factly, and Hyunjin decides he likes this boy, because even if he’s a little prickly, he’s funny.

 

“So where are you from?” Hyunjin persists. “I’m from Seoul, but my family moved here three years ago for some business.”

 

“Oh, me too! I mean, I’m from Seoul, and Aunt Seulgi moved here three years ago for her job.” Hyunjin says excitedly.

 

“Oh, Seulgi is your aunt? She and my parents are colleagues. She comes over to my house sometimes—it’s a street down from hers.” Seungmin tells him, and Hyunjin cheers in his head. Maybe this summer would be even better than he had expected.

 

-

 

It’s not better, but it’s way, way better than he’s hoped for. As days pass, with his consistent prodding and endless questions directed towards Seungmin, the other boy finally opens up to him. He learns that Seungmin is the same age as him, but six months younger. But when Hyunjin teasingly asks him to call him ‘hyung’, Seungmin had pushed him off the ground they were sitting on and into the creek.

 

When Hyunjin tells his aunt about Seungmin, she lights up in recognition. “I know him! His parents and I work together. They’re nice people, and Seungmin is very cute.”

 

“He pushed me into the water,” Hyunjin pouts. “As I said, Seungmin is a good kid.” His aunt teases.

 

“Hey!” Hyunjin whines, pushing his carrot around on his plate. “If you finish all the vegetables—yes, including that broccoli—then I’ll bring you to Seungmin’s house. I heard Seungmin likes a certain idol.” His aunt promises.

 

“Is it Park Jinyoung?” Hyunjin perks up at this tidbit of information. “I don’t know, but if you finish your vegetables then maybe you can ask him.”

 

Upon hearing that, Hyunjin shoves the broccoli into his mouth, grimacing at the horrid taste. “Done!” He mumbles through a mouthful of vegetables.

 

-

 

To his disappointment, Seungmin doesn’t like Park Jinyoung. But it’s a consolation that he likes another group under the same label as Jinyoung, a band called Day6. “They can do anything—except dance. There’s someone playing the keyboard, the drums, the guitar, and another type of guitar I don’t know the name of. They’re really cool!” Seungmin exclaims with a glint of enthusiasm in his eyes that Hyunjin has yet to see before.

 

“So you don’t know Jinyoung hyung.” Hyunjin tsks. “Why are you calling him hyung? He doesn’t even know you exist.” Seungmin points out. “Besides, Day6 is way cooler.”

 

“Not as cool as Jinyoung hyung, probably.” Hyunjin says just to rile up Seungmin. It works, and Seungmin punches his shoulder with enough force to hurt, and Hyunjin falls on the ground, crying out dramatically. “You take that back!” Seungmin frowns, nudging Hyunjin with his foot. “You can’t make me.” Hyunjin sings, standing up and flopping onto Seungmin’s bed.

 

“Oh, I can.” Seungmin rubs his hands together, and flicks the edge of his blanket up so that Hyunjin is trapped between the blanket and the bed, and digs his fingers into Hyunjin’s sides. “No, no, please!” Hyunjin pleads between peals of laughter. “Take what you said back!” Seungmin commands, continuing to tickle him mercilessly.

 

“Ne-e-ver!” Hyunjin giggles uncontrollably, and tries to fight back by tickling him back. It works, and the two roll around, half-gasping for air, until Hyunjin’s mom comes in to tell them to stop making a racket.

 

-

 

The one-month mark of his summer trip rolls around, but Hyunjin doesn’t notice it. He’s busy bothering Seungmin, ringing the doorbell every morning until Seungmin flings his bedroom window open, yelling at him to shut up.

 

(“Oh, a swear word! I’m going to tell your parents you told me to shut up unless you let me in.” Hyunjin shouts back, a hand over his eyes to block the glare of the Busan sun. Hyunjin can see Seungmin’s lips pull down into frown, probably contemplating if he should take the risk of having his parents know or just letting the pesky boy in.

 

He decides on the latter—after all, Hyunjin would just find a way to squeeze under the gate. The side gate clicks open, and Hyunjin cheers. “Hurry up and come in, it’s so hot outside,” Seungmin grumbles, opening the door.)

 

Because of Seungmin’s erratic sleeping timings, Hyunjin devises a clever plan to sneak into the house without having to wake the other boy up. One afternoon, he brings a ladder over, huffing under the weight of the metal.

 

Halfway there, he groans and dropping the ladder, sliding down with his back against a fence. The sun is particularly harsh today, and combined with the weight of the ladder and his twelve-year old strength, he thinks he’s about to faint from exhaustion.

 

“Hey, are you okay?” A concerned voice asks, and Hyunjin’s arm flops bonelessly to his other side. “Oh, aren’t you the kid from the train station?” The voice says with a note of recognition.

 

Hyunjin pries his eyelids over with great determination, and standing next to him is the assistant train conductor—the nice one who’d helped him with his luggage. “Oh.” He mutters faintly. “Yeah.”

 

The older boy laughs, bending down to pick up the ladder off the concrete pavement. “I can help you with that. Where are you heading to?”

 

Hyunjin braces his hands against the fence for support, pulling himself off the ground. “The house just down the road, the white and blue one.” Hyunjin mumbles.

 

“Oh, I actually live there!” The boy says, eyes widening in surprise. “I’m Kim Woojin.”

 

“You’re Woojin? Seungmin’s brother?” Hyunjin realises. “How do you know my brother?” Woojin questions curiously, a hand holding the ladder and the other splayed on Hyunjin’s shoulder, ensuring he doesn’t fall over from the heat.

 

“I met him at the creek, I’m staying at Aunt Seulgi’s house over the summer.” Hyunjin stumbles a little but Woojin’s firm grip pulls him up.

 

“Ah, so you’re the Hyunjin my brother keeps talking about!” Woojin grins, sunlight reflecting off his brown hair to turn the strands gold. “Really? He does?” Hyunjin gasps, a warm feeling in his chest.

 

“Although mostly to complain about how persistent you are about befriending him. But you’re doing a good job, because I know my brother can be a little prickly at times.” Woojin comments, turning the key in the lock of the gate.

 

The gate slips open, and Woojin gestures for Hyunjin to follow after him. “Where do you want me to put this?” He points to the ladder.

 

Woojin follows Hyunjin to the back garden, propping the ladder against the wall. It isn’t very tall, but it comes up to about three quarters of the wall’s height, so it should be fine. “You’re planning to sneak into our house?” Woojin snorts.

 

“Well, not really sneak into, but yeah! There’s another ladder on the other side of this wall that I got my aunt to help me with, so that I won’t have to wake Seungminnie up everytime I come here.” Hyunjin nods proudly. “Thanks, hyung—can I call you that?”

 

“Of course!” Woojin pinches his cheeks fondly.

 

“Hyung! Is that you?” Seungmin’s voice calls from inside the house, and there’s a pitter-patter of footsteps and the boy pushes open the back door. His eyes narrow when he sees Hyunjin, although not in a mean way. “Why are you with my hyung?” Seungmin asks suspiciously.

 

“Woojin hyung helped me bring the ladder here so I can get into your house without waking you up!” Hyunjin beams at the pair of siblings.

 

“I won’t open the front door for you,” Seungmin says threateningly, which would be scary if not for the upwards quirk of his mouth. “It’s okay, because hyung will open it for me, right?” Hyunjin laughs at Seungmin’s betrayed expression when Woojin nods in assent.

 

-

 

Hyunjin is still sleeping when there’s a knock on his window. He groans and turns over, pulling the blankets over his head. There’s another knock on his window, this time louder. “Noisy,” He grumbles, refusing to open his eyes and acknowledge the fact that he’s awake.

 

 _Wait a moment,_ he thinks as there’s another thud on the window. _Why is there knocking on my window?_ His mind, previously drowsy and tired, starts to come up with the most ridiculous scenarios ever. _Is it a robber? The police? Don’t tell me it’s a ghost!_ He wails internally. He knows from the shows on TV that his parents watch sometimes that certain parts of Busan are known to be haunted.

 

 _But if I don’t let them in, won’t they go to Aunt’s room and kill her instead?_ He recoils in horror and stands up shakily, pulling open the curtains. Kkami snuffles, rolling over to lie on her back. _If it was a ghost, would Kkami be able to sense it?_ It’s not yet light outside, the meadow shadowed in hazy darkness. Glancing down, he nearly screams when there’s a figure standing beneath the window.

 

The figure turns up and Hyunjin can make out the head of brown hair. _Oh no, it’s a male ghost._ Hyunjin is about to scramble back from the window and make a run for his life when the ghost lifts his hand up, beckoning Hyunjin to come down.

He stops. Why would the ghost ask him to come down when he can just fly up and enter his room? Squinting carefully, he sighs in relief. It’s just Seungmin. He opens his window, nodding at the other boy before he realises that Seungmin can’t see his face clearly.

 

“Come down now!” Seungmin hisses, his voice carrying to Hyunjin’s window. Hyunjin holds up an okay sign, pulling the window shut and running down the carpeted stairs. Seungmin is waiting for him outside the front gate, arms crossed. In his hands is a sizeable pile of erasers, which had probably been the knocking sounds on his window.

 

“What took you so long?” Seungmin frowns, pulling Hyunjin away by the wrist. “I thought you were a ghost!” Hyunjin exclaims.

 

Seungmin gives Hyunjin a deadpan look. “Ghosts don’t exist, Hyunjin.”

 

“Do you have proof they don’t?” Hyunjin retorts.

 

“What—you can’t prove that something _doesn’t_ exist!” Seungmin splutters indignantly. Hyunjin raises an eyebrow triumphantly. “See! You can’t prove that ghosts don’t exist, which mean they do.”

 

“I was planning on bringing you to one of my favourite places, but if you’re going to be this annoying, I’m going to leave you here to get lost.” Seungmin huffs.

 

“No, wait! I want to go.” Hyunjin protests. It’s Seungmin’s turn to raise an eyebrow at him, and Hyunjin pouts. “Please?”

 

“You don’t even know where I’m bringing you to, and you came along anyway?” Seungmin scoffs. “But I trust you,” Hyunjin grins, watching as Seungmin flounders, at a loss for words.

 

“Oh! I forgot to tell Aunt that I was going out, what if she wakes up and thinks I got kidnapped?” Hyunjin remembers, stopping in his tracks. Seungmin tugs on his arm. “I don’t think anyone will want to kidnap you. Anyway, we’re only going to be out for a bit.”

 

Reassured, Hyunjin speeds up his pace to match Seungmin’s. “Why did you have to wake me up so early just to see this place?”

 

Seungmin hums noncommittally. “You’ll see.”

 

The street lamps in Busan are different from those in Seoul. For one, they barely illuminate anything more than a metre in front of them. Sometimes, they don’t light up at all. That night was one of those nights. The moonlight cast a dim glow on the streets, but it was barely enough to see in front of them.

 

Quietly, he slips a hand into Seungmin’s, laughing to himself when Seungmin startles. “It’s dark,” Is his only explanation when the boy turns to look at him curiously. Thankfully, Seungmin doesn’t question further and lets it be, fingers curling loosely around Hyunjin’s hand.

 

The walk isn’t very far. Within minutes, they’ve reached an outcropping of rocks over a small coast, gentle waves lapping against the cliff. It’s nothing compared to the overwhelming size of Haeundae Beach, but the quiet calm of the beach reminds Hyunjin of days spent at home with his parents, just talking and catching up. It brings to mind his friends huddled in a circle, talking in hushed voices, comforting each other when things went astray; and sitting with Seungmin in the meadow, matching smiles on their faces.

 

“It’s pretty, isn’t it?” Seungmin murmurs, pulling Hyunjin down to sit next to him. Hyunjin nods, fingers trailing over the smooth sand.

 

“Thank you for bringing me here, Minnie.” Hyunjin whispers, afraid to talk too loudly and break the tranquility of the place. “There’s something I brought you here for. Just wait.”

 

So Hyunjin waits. He’s never been very patient, but with Seungmin right beside him, instead of fidgeting like he usually would, he sits quietly with his legs crossed, content with the silence and the wait. As the minutes tick by, he sees the first ray of light flicker over the horizon. Slowly, the tip of the sun peeks out of the horizon, hues of pink and purple dancing on the water’s surface, casting a faint metallic tinge on the sea.

 

“Woah.” Hyunjin breathes out. They sit there for some time, watching as the sun rises higher above the horizon, the pink and purple tinge of the sky turns into a mellow orange, casting a warm glow on the sea. “I’ve lived in Busan for three years, but sometimes still I miss my old friends back in the city and the excitement of Seoul. When that happens, I come to this secluded coast because, well, there’s a clear view of Busan’s sunrise here.”

 

“Why the sunrise?” Hyunjin asks.

 

“Because no matter where we are, or who we are, under the sun, we are all the same. We’re looking at the same sun even if we’re timezones apart, and when the sun rises we can always start anew.” Seungmin says, a faraway look in his eyes.

 

Hyunjin doesn’t say anything for a while, Seungmin’s words processing in his head. Then, “Did you swallow a dictionary or something?” Hyunjin teases.

 

Seungmin flushes. “Shut up, Jinnie.” He mutters crossly and ignores Hyunjin for the rest of the day. But as Hyunjin slips under his blankets later in the morning, he ponders over Seungmin’s words. Maybe he’s been wishing on too many shooting stars instead of looking to the right place.

 

-

 

Time passes way too quickly for Hyunjin’s liking. Soon, he’s reaching the end of his three-month stay in Busan. He tells Seungmin this, and the other boy only rolls his eyes, saying, “What do you mean too quickly? I wish time would pass faster so I won’t have to see your face so often.” He retorts, but quickly retracts when Hyunjin pouts, threatening to use aegyo on Seungmin unless he takes what he said back.

 

Soon enough, it’s the last day. Hyunjin stands on his bed, looking down at the mess of clothes scattered on the ground and albums placed haphazardly on the table. Kkami noses into the pile, settling happily between his favourite shirt and khaki shorts.

 

His bedroom door opens, and Aunt Seulgi stands in the doorframe, looking pointedly at the unpacked room. “Hwang Hyunjin! You haven’t packed your things? You’re leaving tomorrow morning!” She chides.

 

“I know,” Hyunjin mutters, sitting down on the bed. “Then start packing now!” She scolds.

 

“It’s just that—I don’t really want to leave Busan.” Hyunjin sighs.

 

Aunt Seulgi nods understandingly. “Don’t worry. You can come and visit some other time when you’re older. I’ll always be here.”

 

Hyunjin shrugs mutely. “Ah, I see. It’s not me you’ll be missing, isn’t it?” Aunt Seulgi smiles knowingly, and Hyunjin doesn’t bother rushing to defend himself, because it’s kind of true. Not that Aunt Seulgi was a terrible aunt—she lets Hyunjin eat cookies before dinner and watches Park Jinyoung videos with him—but he doesn’t know the next time he’ll be able to see Seungmin.

 

“I’ll leave you to pack, then.” She walks out of the room, shutting the door behind her. Hyunjin sighs for what seems like the hundredth time that day and flops down on his bed.

 

-

 

“Get up!” Someone shoves him, and Hyunjin wakes up startled, sitting upright hastily. “Aunt Seulgi was right about you procrastinating.” Seungmin crosses his arm, staring judgmentally at the chaos on the bedroom floor.

 

“Hey!” Hyunjin says petulantly, rolling off his bed and onto the floor. Kkami yelps and scurries off. “Did you miss me that much that you came over?” Hyunjin laughs.

 

Seungmin scowls at him. “You wish. Aunt Seulgi told me you hadn’t packed and was sad about leaving Busan so I came over to,” Seungmin gestured on the mess on the floor, “help.” He picks up a shirt from the the bottom of the pile, wrinkling his nose at the crease marks on the sleeves. “You have to help too!” Seungmin throws a sock at Hyunjin, hitting him squarely on the nose.

 

Two hours later, the clothes are folded in Hyunjin’s luggage—well, stuffed into the luggage is more like it, and all the albums and posters are stowed safely between shirts. Hyunjin and Seungmin sit opposite each other on the window seat.

 

“Will your family ever go back to Seoul?” Hyunjin asks, feet nudging Seungmin’s legs. “I don’t think so. My parents are pretty set on staying in Busan because their jobs here pay way higher than in the capital.”

 

“But what about you? What do _you_ want?” Hyunjin presses, and Seungmin looks out of the window. “I don’t really know. I like the peacefulness of the countryside but sometimes, I miss the people in Seoul. And I know I may be too young to be saying this, but I don’t see any future for me in Busan.”

 

Hyunjin nods, a thoughtful silence falling over them. “I’m going back to Seoul tomorrow.”

 

“I know,” Seungmin says quietly.

 

“And you’ll be staying in Busan.” Hyunjin continues.

 

“Yeah,” Seungmin replies. “We’re only twelve, and there’s a long way in front of us. Who knows, we might meet again in the future? But for now,” Seungmin looks up at the grey sky, the sun covered by clouds, “I’ll see you soon.”


	2. i know we stayed up talking in circles, but I like to think the symmetry will keep me close to you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yo! sorry if their personalities are...off...at some point...i kind of...stopped writing this chapter 3-quarters way through and i just picked it back up lol but alot of this chapter isnt up to my expectations at all...but take this 10.3k of word vomit!

_part ii, Seoul_

 

Hyunjin thinks of Seungmin from time to time. He’s reminded of the silhouette of the boy against the sea when he passes by Eurwangni Beach, crowded full of people running on the coast. He sees Seungmin his dreams, lying down in a field full of pink camellias; splashing in the cool water of the creek; leaning against the tall trunk of a redwood tree.

 

He doesn’t regret leaving Seungmin behind in Busan—not that he had a choice—but sometimes, when he stares out of the classroom window, he sees the glare of the sun reflecting off the school walls, he closes his eyes and wishes for him to see Seungmin again.

 

-

 

“Hurry up!” He shouts over his shoulder to Felix, bag thumping against his back with every step he takes. “We’re going to be late!”

 

The pair of them run to the lecture theatre, footsteps squeaking in the empty hallways. They push open the doors at the same time as the professor says, “Lee Yongbok? Is Mr Lee here?” Despite their tardiness, Hyunjin snorts as Felix flushes and corrects the professor. “Yes, but please call me Lee Felix, sir.”

 

The professor nods in acknowledgement and turns to Hyunjin. “And you are?”

 

“Hwang Hyunjin, sir.” He bows and they rush to the empty seats at the back of class. “Okay! Welcome to your first Biochemistry lesson of the year. Your professor isn’t able to be with you today, so I’m replacing him for now. I’m Kim Woojin, your teaching assistant, in my final year of university. Feel free to ask me any questions that you have.”

 

The class applauds politely, but Hyunjin looks up, shocked. Kim Woojin? He takes his first proper look at the teaching assistant, and he has the smiley eyes and friendly smile, but thousands of people had similar features and the name wasn’t very rare in Korea. And also, there’s the fact that Woojin had been an assistant train operator back in Busan, so why would he be a TA now?

 

He watches Woojin ( _Mr Kim, his brain corrects_ ) throughout the lesson, barely absorbing anything he says. Thank God, the first lesson’s content was only an introduction to the course. If Woojin was here—that is, if it was even the same Woojin—, would it mean that Seungmin was here too? Did they come to Seoul together?

 

“Hey, are you listening?” Felix whispers, nudging him. “No,” Hyunjin says loudly, then lowers his voice when a few people turn around to look at him. “Lix, I think the TA is Seungmin’s brother.”

 

“As in, the Seungmin you fell in love with in Busan?” Felix says disbelievingly. “I did _not_ fall in love with him, but yes, that Seungmin.” Hyunjin confirms, staring as Woojin wraps up the lesson.

 

“Go ask him!” Felix nods in their TA’s direction. “What? Now?” Hyunjin laughs nervously. “He’s leaving soon, just go!” Felix picks up Hyunjin’s laptop and shoves it into his bag. “I’ll wait for you outside with your things.”

 

“Thanks,” Hyunjin mutters and scrambles out of his seat and down the steps. “Mr Kim?”

 

He turns around, laptop tucked under one arm, smiling warmly when he sees Hyunjin. “Hyunjin, right?”

 

“Yes.” _If he barely remembers my name, doesn’t that mean he isn’t the same Woojin?_ “Do…are you…” Hyunjin stutters, uncharacteristically nervous. “Do you know anyone called Kim Seungmin?”

 

For a moment, Woojin frowns, confused, and Hyunjin dreads that he got it all wrong, that he’s deluded himself. “How do you know my brother?” Woojin says, and Hyunjin gapes, heart pounding too quickly in his chest.

 

Then Woojin’s eyes light up in recognition. “Oh my, I can’t believe I didn’t recognise you! Hyunjin, you were the one that came over to Busan in the summer—Aunt Seulgi’s nephew, isn’t it? You really grew up well!”

 

“Wait, but weren’t you working as an assistant train operator at Busan station? How did you end up teaching Biochemistry in Seoul?” Hyunjin says disbelievingly. “Oh, I was just helping my father out then. He runs the KTX branch in Busan, you know?” Woojin replies. “Also, if my memory serves me right, weren’t you and Seungmin close?”

 

Hyunjin nods. “Yeah, but,” He looks down, “I don’t think Seungmin and I can really be considered friends anymore.”

 

“It’s funny how Seungmin keeps saying the same thing.” Woojin chuckles. “Really? He says that?” Hyunjin looks back up at Woojin _hyung_ , who’s smiling fondly.

 

“Yeah. Did you know he’s enrolled this university too?” Woojin says, and Hyunjin’s heart stops in his chest. Seungmin was _here_? “Yes, he’s a first year like you.” Woojin informs him, as if he’d read Hyunjin’s mind.

 

Hyunjin leaves the classroom, feeling like he’s going to faint anytime soon. True to his words, Felix is standing outside the hall, two bags in his hands. “Are you okay?” He asks worriedly when he sees Hyunjin.

 

“He is.” Hyunjin mumbles faintly. “He’s what?”

 

“He’s Seungmin’s brother.” Hyunjin takes his bag from Felix’s grip mechanically and starts walking. His thoughts are a mixture of delight but also slight trepidation. What if Seungmin had changed? What if Seungmin thought that Hyunjin had changed? What if Seungmin didn’t want to be friends anymore, or worse, what if he _didn’t recognise Hyunjin at all_?

 

“…bro! I’m so happy for you.” Felix cheers, and Hyunjin blinks out of his daze. “What?”

 

Felix rolls his eyes. “So, when are you going to meet him?”

 

Hyunjin hesitates. “I’m not?” He says. Felix raises an eyebrow. “I’m not going to meet him.” He says decisively. “What do you mean?”

 

“I mean, I’m just going to let fate decide. I’m not going to arrange anything by myself.” Hyunjin explains.

 

“You mean, you’re too much of a coward to see him.” Felix grips Hyunjin’s shoulder and turns him around just before he walks straight into a locker. “No!” Hyunjin denies.

 

“If you say so,” Felix mutters.

 

 _I do._ Hyunjin convinces himself.

 

-

 

To be fair, the campus is big. Hyunjin can’t be expected to actively go to every corner of the university and shout Seungmin’s name until the boy appears in front of his eyes. At least, that’s how he justifies himself when Jisung calls him a chicken. “Nobody’s asking you to do that, stupid.” Changbin, who Felix somehow managed to charm into being his boyfriend, scoffs.

 

“Then how else do I look for him?” Hyunjin protests. “Are you an idiot?” Jisung says scornfully, exchanging a glance with Changbin. “Why are you even asking that?” Changbin returns.

 

“I don’t get it!” Hyunjin wails, sinking further into the armchair in Changbin’s dorm.

 

Felix takes pity on him. “I think they’re saying that you can just ask Mr Kim for Seungmin’s number or his major.”

 

Hyunjin sits up. “No, that’s impossible! Hyung wouldn’t give me his number.”

 

Changbin sighs exasperatedly. “Why wouldn’t he?”

 

“I’m not close enough to Seungmin to be asking that?” Hyunjin tries, but it’s a shot in the dark. Jisung rolls his eyes. They seem to be doing that too often nowadays, Hyunjin notes.

 

“You literally spent the entire year after you went to Busan telling us all about him.” Jisung rakes a hand through his hair. “And you call Mr Kim hyung.” Felix adds.

 

“But that was so long ago!” Hyunjin whines, and Changbin stands up. “I’m leaving. I don’t think I can take this stupidity.”

 

“You’re worse than me! You didn’t even know Felix liked you even after he kissed you and told you he loved you, because you thought it was platonic.” Hyunjin doesn’t miss the chance to roast Changbin, but Felix stands up. “Sorry, Hyunnie, but I agree with Changbin.”

 

Jisung rises up from his seat on the bed. “You too?” Hyunjin gasps in betrayal, but the three of them just walk out of the dorm, shutting the door behind them.

 

Hyunjin flings himself onto the unmade bed, burying his face into the pillows and letting out a muffled, indistinguishable scream, kicking the stuffed toy off the bed. “Don’t touch Gyu!” Changbin pokes his head into the room, snatching the plushie off the floor and into his arms.

 

He groans and rolls off the bed.

 

-

 

Club applications open, and Hyunjin’s guilty of forgetting about Seungmin for a couple of days. He and Felix register for the dance team, and he thinks that he’d flunked the auditions until they get the official email invite into the team.

 

Hyunjin and Felix stand nervously outside the door, afraid to knock. “Let’s do it together on the count of three.” Hyunjin says, and Felix nods. “One, two—”

 

“What are you doing standing outside? Come in!” The door opens by itself, a smiling senior standing at the doorway.

 

Felix nudges Hyunjin to enter first, and he does, stepping into the room. Most of the lights are off, with only the spotlights switched on to illuminate the centre. About a dozen seniors sit in a circle around a few freshmen.

 

They’re ushered into the centre of the circle, and Hyunjin sits shakily beside another boy with pink hair, fringe brushing his eyebrows. “Welcome to the dance team, freshmen. We might not be one of your typical fraternities or sororities, but in here, we are a very close and like-minded group of passionate dancers. We expect you to be the same, do you understand?” A senior with lilac hair says sternly, face illuminated by the flickering candles. Hyunjin nods, intimidated both by the serious atmosphere and the devastatingly pretty senior.

 

“Ah, stop scaring them, Yongie!” Another senior, this time with mint-green hair, laughs. Is it a tradition to dye your hair outrageous colours in university? Hyunjin wonders, staring at another senior, a girl with long red hair.

 

“Basically, what Taeyong said except we’re not really as dull as him. I’m Soonyoung, but you can call me Hoshi.” Hoshi says brightly. The rest of the seniors go around the circle introducing themselves. The girl with long red hair is Lisa, another one with (thankfully) normal black hair is Kino, and the one next to him with an oddly long neck is Changmin. There’s a few others that Hyunjin can’t quite remember the names of.

 

Then one of them—Minho?—asks them to dance individually so that they can get a grasp of their style. Hyunjin panics a little at first, turning to Felix with wide eyes. “What do I do?” He freaks out.

 

“Does it look like I know? I don’t know what I’ll do either!” Felix hisses back.

 

“Felix? You’re up next!” Minho calls. Hyunjin and Felix exchange alarmed looks. Then, it’s like Hyunjin can see a light-bulb go off in his friend’s head, and he says, “Sunbae, can Hyunjin and I dance as a duo?”

 

Hyunjin pinches Felix on the thigh. “What are you _doing_?” He whispers frantically. “Remember the dance we performed at the high school festival? Just do that!” Felix mutters to him.

 

“Sure, you can!” Minho gives them a thumbs-up. Felix pulls Hyunjin to his feet and connects his phone to the speakers. The opening notes blare out and Hyunjin’s still frozen on the spot. “Hwang Hyunjin, if you don’t do this I _will_ find Seungmin and expose everything you’ve said about him!” Felix threatens in an undertone.

 

Upon hearing this, Hyunjin snaps out of it and gets into position just as his part starts, and the judging stares of the seniors fade away as he begins to dance, movements sharp. When he reaches the ‘killing part’, he smirks and stares around the room from under his fringe, knowing that he’s hot when he’s in his element. Someone whistles admiringly, and Hyunjin almost breaks character to laugh.

 

Thankfully, he doesn’t, and only when the dance ends, with his back facing the audience, does he let out a huge sigh of relief that neither of them had messed up. Someone begins to clap, and other join in as Felix and Hyunjin face them and bow, excitement running through his veins.

 

“Welcome to the dance team, freshmen.” Minho says.

 

-

 

Of course, he should have known this calmness in university wouldn’t last for very long. Less than a month later, Taeyong—who turned out to be the captain of the dance team—informs them that there’s to be a collaboration with the choir club for their performance in the Winter Festival.

 

“As you all probably expected, not all of us will have the privilege to perform. There’ll be 3 from the freshmen, 4 from the sophomores, 5 from the juniors, and all 9 seniors will be performing. We’ll pick not entirely based on skill level, but rather who we think will fit the concept best. Results will be out a week from now.” Taeyong announces, sitting down cross-legged.

 

When they’re filing out of the dance studio, Hyunjin finds himself next to the pink-haired freshman from the auditions day. His name is Jaemin, and Hyunjin quickly finds out that they both take the same Pharmaceutical Chemistry class, but Jaemin actually takes that lesson because he needs it, whereas Hyunjin just uses that class to fill his requirements.

 

“Are you going to try to get in?” Jaemin strikes up conversation, and Hyunjin shrugs. “I mean, yeah, but it’s not as if we can do much. We don’t even know the theme of the performance.”

 

“I guess you’re right. Hey, what class do you have next?” Jaemin picks up their bags and hands Hyunjin’s to him. “Uh,” Hyunjin squints, trying to remember, “environmental biology.”

 

“Oh, I’m going to environmental engineering! They’re in the same building.” The pink-haired boy exclaims and they set off to the building together. “So, how’s university life?” Hyunjin says awkwardly, trying not to let the conversation die.

 

Jaemin gestures offhandedly. “Eh, alright. I came here not knowing anyone, but turns out my cousin—maybe you know her? Her name is Heejin—also started her first year at this university and she introduced me to a few of her friends.”

 

Hyunjin shakes his head. “No, I don’t know her, but her name sounds familiar.”

 

“Ah! I think she also takes environmental biology. She’s always complaining about only have one friend in that class.” Jaemin laughs. “One friend? I’d be glad to have that. I don’t know anyone in that class.” Hyunjin confesses, smiling. He’s glad it isn’t uncomfortable to talk to Jaemin.

 

He can see their block in front of them, and speeds up his pace a little so they wouldn’t be late. “Really? Maybe you can make friends with my cousin and her friend, then. Would you happen to have heard of Kim Seungmin?” Jaemin says.

 

Hyunjin freezes. “Kim—Kim Seungmin?” He stutters, unable to speak coherently. _Seungmin_ was in the same class as him, and he never noticed? “Yep!” Jaemin continues walking, oblivious to Hyunjin’s situation.

 

“We might be late if we don’t reach soon.” Jaemin comments, and Hyunjin breaks out of his stupor to continue walking, mind numb. The campus was so big, yet he’d never met Seungmin—but the boy had been right in front of him. “What did you say was your cousin’s name again?” Hyunjin questions.

 

“Heejin! Jeon Heejin.” Jaemin pushes open the double glass doors and holds them open as Hyunjin walks in. “I’ll be sure to look out for her,” Hyunjin thanks him. _And her friend_ , he adds mentally.

 

He makes it into the class just on time, eyes scanning over the room. The seat he usually takes in the back row is empty, but three rows down, Hyunjin sees him.

 

Kim Seungmin.

 

Walking stiffly up the steps, he keeps his eyes on the aforementioned boy. He shuffles into his seat, putting his bag on the floor with more noise than usual, hoping that Seungmin would turn around. He doesn’t, and Hyunjin spends the rest of the lesson staring at the back of his head and the cherry red hair curling at his nape. He texts their group chat under the table, looking up every few seconds to check if the professor is looking in his direction.

 

 **hyunjean:** KIM SEUNGMNI IS IN MY ENVIRONEMNTAL BIOLGY CLASS!1!!1

 

 **aussieboi00:** OMG YOU FINALLY FOUND HIM??

 

 **doraehan:** GO TALK TO HIM. NOW

 

 **babybin:** I mean, you would have found him sooner or later. The campus is big, but not that big.

 

 **doraehan:** SHUT UP U USELESS THIS IS A BIG MOMENT FOR US!!! we wont have to sit through hours of his pining and complaining anymore

 

 **babybin:** True but how did you not see him before this? Your class can’t be that big

 

 **aussieboi00:** it’s not, i think hyunjin is just **insert ok hand sign emoji** this much blind

 

 **hyunjean:** HEY!!! i have a serious problem here, should i approach him?

 

 **hyunjean:** i should right?? ive been wanting to see him for years

 

 **hyunjean:** but wait what if he doesnt remember me

 

 **hyunjean:** omg ill cry in class if that happens tHAT WOULD BE SO EMBARRASSING

 

 **hyunjean:** ok i cant do it!

 

**babybin:**

**doraehan:**

**babybin:**

**doraehan:**

**babybin:**

**doraehan:** @god are u seeing this??

 

 **aussieboi00:** hyunjin…

Hyunjin clicks off his phone and shoves it into his bag. He can see the professor starting to look across the room for any wayward students. When he’s sure that the professor is busy nagging about the importance of handling equipment, he pulls his phone out again.

 

 **hyunjean:** sorry prof choi was looking

 

 **aussieboi00:** oh i heard he likes to call students out for not paying attention?

 

 **hyunjean:** ya he does,,, how old does he think we are?? i thought they only did that in middle school

 

 **doraehan:** u actly bother to pay attention in that class??? why havent u dropped it yet

 

 **babybin:** Unlike you, some people actually take their learning seriously

 

 **hyunjean:** OOOO BANG BANG SHOTS FIRED

 

 **doraehan:**...

 

 **hyunjean:** n e ways i was thinking

 

 **doraehan:** wow hyunjin thinking! what a novel concept

 

 **babybin:** Says you? lol sure

 

 **hyunjean:** lol sure (2)

 

 **aussieboi00:** lol sure (3)

 

 **doraehan:** NOT U TOO LIX

 

 **hyunjean:** ANYWAYS AS I WAS SAYING

 

 **hyunjean:** should i??? take the risk???? and talk to him????? even ill cry for days after that if he doesnt remember me??????

 

 **doraehan:** lol glad u know ur own weakness

 

 **aussieboi:** i think you should! you’ll be even sadder if you don’t at least try  D:

 

 **babybin:** What Felix means is that you shouldn’t be the coward (that you actually are) and just. Ask. Him.

 

 **doraehan:** oof. but ^^

 

 **hyunjean:** YALL ARE MEAN IM LEAVING BYE

 

Groaning, he slumps down, putting his head on the table. The class ends in about ten minutes, so he has that amount of time to contemplate his problem. There were two outcomes if he were to approach to Seungmin. One, Seungmin doesn’t remember him at all and he’s treated as a weirdo for the rest of his university life. Two, Seungmin actually recognises him and…

 

And what? Would they become friends immediately? Would Seungmin think that their old friendship wasn’t enough basis for them to become close again? Would he think of Hyunjin as a loser who wasn’t worth his time?

 

“Mr Hwang!” An object connects with his head and Hyunjin sits up straight, blinking in confusion. Beside his table, marker lies on the floor, and the professor as well as the entire class is looking at him. “I expect all students to pay full attention in my classes, and slacking off is definitely not tolerated! You—” the professor continues scolding, but Hyunjin isn’t listening anymore.

 

Hyunjin feels like shrivelling up and dying, but not because of the professor scolding him. Three rows down, a boy staring at him, eyes wide. Seungmin really hadn’t changed much, his features still soft and cheeks rounded with slight baby fat. _Does this mean he recognises me?_ Hyunjin panics internally. _Great going, Hyunjin. After seven years, his first impression of you grown up will be a lazy university student sleeping in classes._

 

“—expect this not to happen again, understood? This applies to all of you as well!” The professor finishes, but Seungmin still hasn’t looked away.

 

 **hyunjean:** MFFFFCLOEVTNIWEUCUETNNTCNOI

 

 **doraehan:** wow look whos back!

 

 **hyunjean:** FUkksjnanNSOCFNOASOSANOISOHMYGOD

 

 **babybin:** Use your words, Hyunjin

 

 **hyunjean:** I

 

 **aussieboi00:** it’s okay, take your time

 

 **hyunjean:** HE

 

 **aussieboi00:** mhm

 

 **hyunjean:** HE

 

 **doraehan:** can u just SAY IT

 

 **babybin:** ^

 

 **hyunjean:** HE LOOK ME

 

 **doraehan:**???

 

 **aussieboi00:** i think he means that seungmin looked at him?

 

 **hyunjean:** YESNCOIROICOIDHEIS

 

 **doraehan:** then WAT R U DOING HERE get off ur phone and STARE RIGHT BACK INTO HIS SOUL

 

 **babybin:** Um

 

 **doraehan:** U GET WHAT I MEAN HURRY UP BEFORE HE LOOKS AWAY OR STH??! R U STUPID

 

A little afraid, Hyunjin raises his head up, and sure enough, Seungmin is still looking at him in disbelief. He smiles hesitantly, and Seungmin smiles back, lips quirking up in the same way as they did seven years ago.

 

 _Oh my god._ He screams internally as the professor ends their lecture. Seungmin turns to face the front, and Hyunjin makes his way towards him, wiping his sweaty palms on his jeans. He was determined to talk to him today, and he hoped Seungmin wouldn’t think of him too badly.

 

“Mr Hwang, I need to see you for a moment.” A voice comes from the front, and Hyunjin’s heart drops. He watches the professor walk towards him as Seungmin shoulders his bag and exits the room. _He doesn’t want to talk to me?_ Hyunjin nearly falls to his feet in despair, staring at the place where Seungmin had disappeared through the doors as the professor lectures him about how even though he

 

Suddenly, he sees a flash of cherry red hair at the exit, and Seungmin peeks around the corner, raising an eyebrow at Hyunjin. “Sorry, Professor, I promise his won’t happen again. I have an emergency at the dorm, bye!” He grabs his bag off his seat and speed-walks to the exit, closing the door behind him.

 

“I thought you were never going to come out,” Seungmin says, leaning against the wall. Hyunjin whips around, breath catching in his throat. Up close, Seungmin was—he was— _breathtaking,_ his brain tells him, staring at him.

 

“Wow, you sure grew up.” Seungmin laughs awkwardly when Hyunjin doesn’t say anything. “You too.” Hyunjin mumbles. “What—why are you here?” He stutters, and then mentally beats himself up for asking such a stupid question.

 

“Actually, never mind. You didn’t really change, still as dumb as ever. I’m studying in Seoul, what else? My major’s Human Geography.” Seungmin rolls his eyes, but Hyunjin can see he’s still tense, worried about what the new dynamic between them was to be.

 

“Did you think I would really mature? Me?” Hyunjin shrugs, patting himself on the back when Seungmin cracks a genuine smile, visibly relieved. “I’m doing bio-medical science as my major. Isn’t that kind of shocking?”

 

Seungmin hums in interest, beginning to walk away from the lecture theatre. Hyunjin follows him like a lost puppy, wondering where they’re heading to. “Actually, it isn’t really that surprising. You acted silly a lot when we were younger but I could tell that you were really passionate about the things you wanted to do.” Seungmin recollects.

 

“Oh, really? Like what?” Hyunjin says in interest. “Yeah. Like how much effort you spent in pestering me. Remember you put the ladder against my wall just to get in and then bothering Woojin hyung until he let you in?” They turn around the corner, exiting the building.

 

“You still remember that?” Hyunjin grimaces at his own stupidity back then. “Of course. Actually, after you left, I was bored. There’s nothing to do there except study and sleep.” Seungmin admits.

 

“Aw, you missed me!” Hyunjin grins. Seungmin shoves him. “No, I didn’t.”

 

“You literally just said it was boring without me around!” He argues. “It’s—that’s just a general statement.” Seungmin mutters.

 

“Sure,” Hyunjin nods. “Oh, Woojin hyung! He’s a TA here now, isn’t he? He told me that you studied here.”

 

“Yeah. He told me about you as well but I didn’t believe him until,” Seungmin gestures at the space between both of them, “well, until now.”

 

They reach a large grey building and Hyunjin looks at Seungmin. “Wait, why are we here?”

 

“Oh, I forgot! Sorry, I was heading to my choir practice and I accidentally brought you here as well.” Seungmin sighs apologetically, and makes to leave, but Hyunjin calls him back. “Wait, you’re in choir?”

 

Seungmin nods. “I’m in dance! Aren’t our clubs collaborating for the winter performance?” Hyunjin exclaims, excited.

 

“You are? I didn’t know. Are you performing?” Seungmin turns back to face him. Hyunjin makes a face. “They might not want me, though.”

 

“They’re making your team compete for the spots in the performance?” Seungmin asks.

 

“Kind of,” Hyunjin frowns. “But if you’re performing, I’ll try my best to impress them so I can be on stage with you.” He winks, and Seungmin rolls his eyes. “Whatever, see you.”

 

“See you!” Hyunjin shouts as Seungmin pushes past the doors. Seungmin waves over his shoulder, not looking back.

 

 **babybin:** Do you think he did it?

 

 **aussieboi00:** hate to say this, but i highly doubt hyunjin actually went up to talk to seungmin…

 

 **doraehan:** definitely not

 

 **hyunjean:** GUYS

 

 **hyunjean:** I DID IT

 

-

 

“And like, I swear, he said he wanted to see me again!” Hyunjin squeals, flailing his arms around. His three friends sit on the bed in front of him, one smiling but the other two with similar unimpressed expressions on their faces. “That’s great, I’m so happy for you!” Felix cheers.

 

“Yeah.” Changbin says without soul, and Jisung echoes hollowly after him. “I only have one friend.” Hyunjin remarks, but nothing can dampen his happiness right now.

 

“Wow, Hyunjin, I’m so proud of you! You finally talked to your childhood friend after half a year of whining and complaining and crying over being too much of a coward to actively look for him!” Jisung says snidely, and Changbin snickers.

 

“Thank you! I’m proud of myself too.” Hyunjin beams, and Changbin sighs. “So, what are you going to do now?” Felix asks.

 

Hyunjin leans forward, steepling his fingers against his chin. “Well, I,” he pauses, thinking. What was he going to do, anyway? Now that he’s met Seungmin and can (maybe?) call them friends again, is that it?

 

“I don’t know.” He confesses. “I spent a lot of time in the past few years dreaming about meeting him again but I’d never thought about what would happen when I actually met him. Just friends, I suppose? Like how I am with you guys.”

 

The three of them on the bed exchange glances. “Uh, I don’t think you would pine over, say, Changbin if he left the country for seven years.” Jisung says, raising an eyebrow. “The thought of you treating us the same way as you do towards Seungmin is a bit,” Felix hesitates.

 

“Gross.” Changbin finishes.

 

“What do you even mean?” Hyunjin scowls. “He’s my friend. I hope?”

 

“I’m—I’m leaving. I can’t deal with this anymore.” Jisung throws his hands up in the air and walks towards the door, but someone knocks on the door before he can leave the room.

 

The four of them freeze. They’re not supposed to be in another room other than their own after midnight, and it’s probably around two in the morning right now. “Hide, hide now!” Changbin hisses, and he slips off the mattress and under the bedframe.

 

Jisung squeezes into the space below the clothes in the closet, pulling the closet door closed. Hyunjin turns his chair around to face the table, picking up a pen and staring at the textbook as Felix answers the door. “Hello!” He chirps, opening the door just a crack, blocking the rest of room from sight with his body.

 

“Oh, it’s you!” Felix steps out of the way, letting the person at the door in. Hyunjin waves at Felix frantically, mouthing _what are you doing?_ He doesn’t want to risk getting caught—oh god, what if he’s expelled?

 

“It’s just Seungmin.” Felix explains as Seungmin steps into the room. Hyunjin almost falls out of his chair in shock. “I thought I heard more than two voices in the room.” The other boy remarks, glancing around. His eyes stop at the closet, and Hyunjin follows his gaze to see orange hair sticking out of the closet door. “Jisung, Changbin!” Hyunjin groans, and Changbin rolls out from under the bed, dust bunnies sticking to his hair and Jisung stumbles out of the closet, tripping over the clothes hangers on the floor.

 

Seungmin snorts, eyes flicking from Hyunjin to everyone else in the room. “I see.”

 

“Hi, I’m Jisung!” He holds out a fist for Seungmin, and the boy stares at his hand, eyes questioning. “It’s a bro-fist, Seungmin.” Felix whispers and Seungmin copies Jisung, bumping fists with him awkwardly.

 

Embarrassed, Hyunjin buries his face in his hands, watching as Changbin and Felix greet Seungmin the _proper_ way. “What brings you here?” Changbin asks.

 

“Oh, I came to return Hyunjin something. I asked my friend, Heejin—you know her, right? In our Environmental Biology class—for your room number and she asked someone called Jaemin who asked Felix.” Seungmin nods. Hyunjin turns to stare at Felix accusingly.

 

“No wonder Jaemin asked me for my room number! I forgot I roomed with you.” Felix smacks his forehead. “You…forgot that Hyunjin was your roommate?” Seungmin says slowly, eyebrows furrowed.

 

“Ignore him. He’s like that sometimes.” Hyunjin chuckles nervously, looking at Changbin for help. The older boy shrugs. “Here. Someone from your dance club passed by the choir room and asked if any of us knew a Hwang Hyunjin and could pass this to him as soon as possible. He said it’s urgent and you have to get it before the next dance practice.”

 

Hyunjin takes the thing from Seungmin’s outstretched palm. It’s a note, folded up into a paper crane, with Hyunjin’s name written neatly on it. He unfolds it, and almost drops the paper when he reads the words inside.

 

“What is it?” Jisung asks nosily. “I—” Hyunjin stutters, shocked. To be honest, he had almost completely forgotten about the performance because he’d doubted he’d get in, but this—this was beyond his imagination.

 

Jisung snatches the note from his hand and reads it out loud. “Congrats, you’ll be performing for the winter festival. Practices for the performance are every weekday, 6pm to 9pm. Be there,” He squints at the squiggly writing hidden at the side of the note, “Or be square.”

 

“Oh my god, congrats, Hyunjin!” Felix is the first to react, only the two of them understanding the context of the note. “You’re—you’re not disappointed?” Hyunjin hesitates, letting himself be hugged by the Australian boy.

 

“No, of course not! I’m proud of you. Anyway, I’m already helping Changbin’s music club by dancing in their showcase. I can’t do both.” Felix informs him.

 

“So, we’ll be performing together, I guess.” Seungmin peers at the note. “Oh, you’re performing _together_?” Jisung stresses the word, smiling mischievously. “What do you mean?” Seungmin asks, confused.

 

Hyunjin signals distressedly at Changbin for help, and Changbin pokes Jisung’s side. “I think Jisung and I need to go back to our dorms now. We’re staying in a completely different building. Goodnight.” He pulls Jisung out of the room by the sleeve and Felix waves them off, unperturbed.

 

“Sorry…sorry for Jisung. He’s—he’s kind of you know, Jisung.” Hyunjin wavers, and Seungmin cracks a small smile. “But you can say the same about yourself, can’t you?” He teases, and picks up his bag at the door. “Night, Hyunjin. And Felix.” He walks out of the room, shutting the door quietly behind him.

 

“What—what was that supposed to mean? Did he just—did he just subtly diss me?” Hyunjin scratches his nape, willing the flush in his cheeks to cool down. “Don’t think too much about it. By the way, your first class is in,” Felix checks the digital clock on the wall, “5 hours. Have you finished your coursework due tomorrow?”

 

“Oh, shit!” Hyunjin panics, turning to the table scattered with almost illegibly-written notes and the blinking cursor on the empty Word document.

 

“I’m going to sleep. Goodnight!” Felix grins at Hyunjin, and he glances over to Felix’s packed bag and the completed work sticking out of the top. “You ass,” He mutters, and resigns himself to a sleepless night.

 

-

 

He turns up just as the clock ticks to the eight AM mark, slapping his printed document onto the stack of papers. “You’re cutting it close, Hyunjin.” Woojin sighs at him and scoops the pile of documents into his arm. Hyunjin grins at him apologetically and Woojin shakes his head as he leaves the lecture theatre to put the documents into the staff room.

 

“Hwang Hyunjin, are you going to sit down, or waste everyone’s time by dawdling?” Professor Park says sharply, and Hyunjin bows and scurries up the steps, sliding into his seat next to Felix. “You left without me!” He hisses at Felix, who has an insufferable smile on his face.

 

“I tried waking you up, but you told me to go drown myself in the toilet.” Felix whispers.

 

“I don’t know how everyone seems to think you’re an angel. I’m going to expose all the embarrassing things you’ve done since birth.” Hyunjin kicks Felix’s shin under the table. “As long Changbin likes me, it doesn’t matter. Plus, I can just expose yours to Seungmin.” Felix kicks Hyunjin back, and he almost falls out of his seat.

 

-

 

On the days leading up to the performance, Hyunjin feels his soul draining out of him. Back-to-back practices, with barely any breaks in between combined with the midterm testing—he regrets not dropping out of school before it had been too late.

 

“Dude, I think I’m going to pass out.” Jisung groans, dropping his head on the table. “Same.” Hyunjin mutters, eyes lifeless as he copies answers from Felix’s paper. “This is the last time I’m letting you mooch off my homework,” Felix warns.

 

Hyunjin rolls his eyes. “You say that as if you didn’t coerce me into doing your laundry and buying all your meals for the next week.”

 

“I did?” Felix pretends to look surprised as Hyunjin finishes the assignment, throwing everything into his bag and standing up. “Whatever. I have to go now.”

 

“So fast?” Changbin looks up from across the table, his eyebags darker than usual. “Yeah. It’s already quarter to six.” Hyunjin gulps down his remaining coffee and tosses the cup into the bin. “Bye!” He calls over his shoulder, pushing open the door, bell tinkling. He doesn’t bother waiting to hear their responses.

 

He changes at top speed, pulling off his flannel and jeans and shrugging on clothes more suited to dancing, running to the practice room just as Taeyong calls for them to begin their warmups.

 

Scanning around the room frantically, he tries to find a partner that hasn’t been taken and sees Jaemin waving at him, beckoning him over. “Hey.” He huffs as he reaches Jaemin’s side and they begin their stretches. “Heard your Environmental Biology class had a particularly taxing assignment due today.” Jaemin remarks as he pushes Hyunjin down into a back stretch. “How did you—oh shit, that hurts—know?” He wheezes out.

 

“My friend is in that class. Also, he says you’re always late to class.” Jaemin groans in pain as Hyunjin pushes his back down, this time on the receiving end. “That’s only because Felix wakes up before me and never bothers waking _me_ up.” Hyunjin grumbles.

 

“Felix is a nice person, you’re just lazy.” Jaemin jokes and Hyunjin presses down harder. “Okay, okay, sorry!” Jaemin whines.

 

Soon, they fall into formation, with Hyunjin squatting at the side, waiting for his turn. When Taeyong switches on the music and the dancers begin, he never fails to be in awe. Hyunjin knows he’s talented, but the seniors here were on a whole other level. Minho, the senior who’d conducted their first practice, had this sort of sexy appeal that he somehow managed to translate into the cheerful choreography. Kino, a third-year, had the sort of charisma that no one else held, with his bright persona shining even while dancing.

 

“Close your mouth, you’ll catch flies.” Jaemin whispers into his ear, and Hyunjin shoots him a glare.

 

When the music transitions into the _Santa Claus is Coming_ track _,_ Hyunjin runs to the middle, assuming his position in the second row as the dance starts.

 

They dance until the large mirrors are fogged up, and Taeyong calls for a break. “Grab your water bottles and come back here, there’s some minor adjustments needed.”

 

“So,” Minho starts, “For the _Santa Claus is Coming_ choreography, the front row needs to be more outstanding. If not there’s no point putting you at the front. Make sure every part is precise, and,” He directs his attention to a second year, “Jihoon! Stop dropping your arms, make sure your posture is straight.” The second-year nods in acknowledgement, perspiration dripping down his neck.

 

“And for the _Santa Tell Me_ choreography, don’t lose focus.” Taeyong takes over. “The dance is peppy and bright, but you can’t lose your stage presence during the dance. If you forget your steps,” He stops to stare pointedly at a third-year who has his head bowed, “Don’t stop dancing. Look to the person in front of you and copy them, improvise, do whatever. Just don’t stop in the middle of the choreograph. Understood? The same goes to all of you. Don’t let the audience know you messed up.” The rest of them sitting on the floor nod, and Jaemin nudges Hyunjin.

 

“Don’t you think the seniors look kind of hot when dancing?” Jaemin mumbles. “What the—that was so sudden.” Hyunjin replies, keeping his volume down. “But they do, don’t they?” Jaemin persists.

 

“Yeah, kind of.” Hyunjin acknowledges.

 

“Hyunjin!” Taeyong says suddenly, and Hyunjin looks up, eyes wide. “Good job. Your stage presence is amazing. The other first-years should learn from him.” Taeyong looks at Jaemin and the other first-year, Donghyun.

 

“Yes, Taeyong.” The two of them say, and Hyunjin ducks his head, embarrassed but also at the same time happy. “A hot guy just complimented you, why aren’t you panicking?” Jaemin nudges Hyunjin, and Hyunjin glares at him.

 

“Oh, I see. You already have someone?” Jaemin wiggles his eyebrows and Hyunjin flushes, a thought of a certain boy shoving his way into his head. “No!” He denies. Jaemin looks like he’s about to fight him, but Minho calls for them to take their positions. He shoots Hyunjin a look that probably says something along the lines of _I’m not done with you,_ and Hyunjin averts his eyes quickly. For someone shorter than him, Jaemin was kind of scary.

 

-

 

“So, you’re telling me he asked if you had someone and your first thought wasn’t Seungmin?” Jisung says through a mouthful of sandwich. Hyunjin kicks a discarded Pepsi can off the quadrangle field, shrugging. “Wait, what does that shrug mean?” Jisung interrogates. Hyunjin keeps his eyes glued to the grass.

 

“It’s not good to litter.” A voice says and he sees a hand picking the drink can off the ground and tossing it into the dustbin nearby. “Oh! Hey, Seungmin.” Jisung greets, stepping on Hyunjin’s foot a little too hard for it to be accidental. Hyunjin looks up, and Seungmin is in front of them, arms crossed. “I didn’t—it wasn’t me,” He stutters. Why is he always making a fool out of himself in front of Seungmin? Where was the cool, suave Hyunjin?

 

“It’s whatever. Where’s your next class?” Seungmin asks. “Uh, Jisung’s is at the West Block and I have Pharmaceutical Chemistry in the East Block.” Hyunjin replies, then pats himself on the back for not stuttering.

 

Seungmin looks behind him. “Isn’t this the West Block? The East Block is in the opposite direction.”

 

“Oh, shit!” He swears when he realises that the building in front of them is, in fact, is the West Block. “Jisung, you little rat, you didn’t tell me!”

 

Jisung imitates Hyunjin, shrugging nonchalantly. “I thought it’d be funny to see you freak out. I’m kinda disappointed that your reaction is so tame. It must be because Seungmin—” Hyunjin claps a hand over Jisung’s mouth. “Okay, I’m leaving now. Bye, Seungmin!” He laughs nervously and removes his hand from Jisung’s mouth. “If you don’t shut up I’m telling Minho you have a crush on him.” He threatens softly, and Jisung’s eyes widen, nodding vigorously.

 

Breaking out into a run, he sprints back across the quadrangle, swearing under his breath. He was going to burn down Jisung’s dorm room—that is, if he survives being scolded for tardiness.

 

He doesn’t make it to the lecture theatre in time. In fact, he’s a whole ten minutes late because he’d dropped his notes somewhere along the way and had to go back to pick up the scattered sheets of paper. “Good afternoon, sir. I’m sorry I’m late.” He bursts into class, chest heaving from exertion.

 

The professor lowers his marker, staring at Hyunjin judgementally. “This is your second time, Mr Hwang. I hope you have a good excuse.”

 

“I know, sir. I had, uh,” Hyunjin’s eyes dart across the room to Jaemin who’s laughing silently at his misery, “Bowel problems _.” Shit, why did he say that? That’s most disgusting reason he could’ve come up with._

 

“I see. Go to your seat.” The professor says slowly, and Hyunjin runs up the stairs. Jaemin’s shoulders are shaking, almost hysterical from laughter. “Stop trying to laugh softly. It isn’t working, asshole.” Hyunjin grumbles.

 

“I—you just said you—” He wheezes, clutching the edge of the table. “You—your—shit, this is so funny!”

 

“Yes, I know that it’s shit.” Hyunjin says dryly, pulling out his laptop and the notes. Maybe if Jaemin continues laughing at his misery, he won’t remember to question Hyunjin about the ‘someone’ he liked.

 

No such luck. Once Jaemin has stopped laughing, he turns to Hyunjin. “Don’t think I forgot. You have someone who you like, don’t you?” Jaemin questions. Hyunjin wisely chooses not to reply.

 

“Hey!” Jaemin hisses. “The professor is talking, Jaemin, pay attention.” Hyunjin stares at the board filled with too many unknown words and chemical equations. “Oh, don’t pretend. You don’t even need this class—I should be the one saying that, but I’m sacrificing this much for you.” Jaemin rolls his eyes.

 

Hyunjin hums noncommittally. “I’m going to guess if you don’t tell me.” Jaemin informs him. “Okay, so those three friends of yours are automatically out, because Felix and Changbin are dating and the whole world knows that Jisung likes Minho. Which means there’s not many people left, you don’t have many friends…” Jaemin thinks out loud, tapping his fingers on the table.

 

Hyunjin opens his mouth to protest but shuts it. It’s true he doesn’t have that many friends. “Oh, I know! It’s Seungmin, isn’t it?” Jaemin says a bit too loudly. “Shut _up_ , what if someone hears you?” Hyunjin smacks his head.

 

“So I’m right, then.” Jaemin nods.

 

“What? No, how did you even think of Seungmin?” Hyunjin busies himself with taking down notes from the board, knowing Jaemin would just copy off him later.

 

“I have my sources, you see.” Jaemin says in an attempt to be mysterious. “You mean, your cousin.” Hyunjin scoffs.

 

“I mean, she did tell me Seungmin kept turning around to stare at you during class.” Jaemin remarks. “He _what_?”

 

Jaemin slaps a hand over his mouth in mock alarm. “Oh dear, I think I wasn’t supposed to tell you that.” Hyunjin abandons his pretence of taking notes and stares at Jaemin. “Seungmin did what?”

 

“Hey, at least one of us has to pay attention in this class!” Jaemin complains. “Tell me!” Hyunjin whines, scooting his chair closer to Jaemin’s.

 

“If you stopped being in denial, maybe you’ll find out.” The pink-haired boy says loftily, and Hyunjin groans, knowing he won’t be able to get anything out of his friend.

 

-

 

Hyunjin starts to think maybe he should just hire a professional relationship counsellor rather than keeping going back to his unhelpful friends. “You know, if I had a dollar every time you came to us with your problems,” Changbin starts. “—Then we’d be able to buy you a boyfriend.” Jisung finishes.

 

“Not what I meant to say, but yes.” Changbin shrugs. “I should really find new friends.” Hyunjin sighs. “You’ve been saying that since you were twelve, but I don’t see you making any.”

 

“Jaemin is my friend!” Hyunjin protests. “I’m friends with Jaemin too. He’s just too friendly to turn you away. Also, he probably likes teasing you about Seungmin.” Felix shoots him down.

 

“Can I sit here?” A new voice asks, and all four of them look up at once. Two boys stand beside their table. “Oh! Hi, Seungmin.” Felix says brightly. “This is my friend, Jeongin. He’s not yet in university—he studies in the high school near our university.” Seungmin introduces, and Jeongin ducks his head shyly.

 

“Hello! Of course, you two can sit.” Jisung moves aside on the bench to let them sit. Seungmin chooses a seat beside Hyunjin, shrugging off his bag and pulling out his books. “Hey, Hyunjin.” He smiles in greeting. “I heard someone mention me just as I arrived.”

 

Hyunjin mentally curses at his friends. “Ah, we were just talking about our shared classes.” He fibs, flipping through his coursework notes. “Are those your environmental biology notes?” Seungmin comments.

 

“Yeah, but I’m kind of failing that course right now.” Hyunjin frowns. “I can help you, I guess? I mean, if you don’t mind.”

 

“Are you serious? Thank you so much, I really have no idea what the professor is saying half the time and I can’t afford to fail a course in my first year.” Hyunjin lights up, and Seungmin looks away, tips of his ears pinking. “Don’t worry about it.”

 

-

 

Seungmin, it turns out, is an actual slave-driver. When Hyunjin meets him at the door of the library, he’s led to a quiet corner, blocked out from the rest of the library by a particularly large bookshelf. “Did you bring your textbook?” Seungmin asks, sitting down. Hyunjin sits beside him, crossing his legs. “Yeah.”

 

“Just read through the first chapter. The professor’s finished teaching up till the third, I think, but we can go slowly. Can you do it in an hour?” Seungmin instructs. Hyunjin opens his textbook for the first time outside class, and realises that the first chapter was _really_ long. “How am I going to finish the entire unit in an hour?” Hyunjin asks incredulously.

 

“I mean, this is just for revision. Shouldn’t you have pretty much studied everything in the first few chapters already?” Seungmin says, opening a new document to start on the essay—that’s due a whole two weeks later. “No! I haven’t even read through the first chapter!” Hyunjin exclaims.

 

“Well, I guess it’s a good thing that you’re starting now, I guess.” Seungmin doesn’t look up from his computer screen. “But I—” Hyunjin starts.

 

“Didn’t you say you wanted to pass the module? It’s better to start late than never.” Seungmin cuts him off smoothly. “I have a revision package that I photocopied for you. After you finish studying the chapter, you should be able to complete the first ten pages.”

 

Helplessly, Hyunjin looks back down at the textbook and line after line of tiny printed text, and sighs. This better be worth it.

 

Exactly an hour later, Seungmin nudges Hyunjin. “Are you done?” He asks. “No, not at all.” Hyunjin mumbles.

 

“Too bad. You can start on this now,” Seungmin pulls a thick stack of binded papers and sets it down on Hyunjin’s table, “Finish the first ten pages in the next hour, okay?”

 

Hyunjin opens his mouth to protest, but one look at Seungmin’s earnest (and maybe slightly evil) gaze, he picks up his pen, flipping open the booklet. “Okay.”

 

After forty-five minutes of staring at the nonsensical words he’d written, Hyunjin hands the booklet over to Seungmin, his teeth worrying his bottom lip. The other boy reads through the lines of his answers carefully, making bright red notations at the side of his writing. “Here. You didn’t answer question three part 1 fully, so refer to the textbook for the right answer. For question four part 3, it’s nothing big, except you wrote the wrong type of organism so you won’t be able to get the full mark for the rest of the explanation.”

 

“Thanks, Minnie.” Hyunjin says with sincere gratefulness, then almost clamps a hand over his mouth. _Crap, things were going so well and you ruined it by calling him a stupid childhood nickname? What if he thinks you’re weird?_

 

Seungmin’s eyes widen for a fraction of a second, and Hyunjin’s heart pounds in his chest, slightly afraid of what he would say. “It’s no problem,” Seungmin hesitates for a while, “Jinnie.”

 

-

 

Hyunjin stands by the entrance of the door, fingers gripping his backpack straps so hard they turn white. “You’re not going in?” Seungmin says from behind, but Hyunjin is too nervous to be shocked by his sudden appearance.

 

“I don’t think I’m ready for the exam.” Hyunjin exhales, eyes cast down. “Hey, don’t say that. Didn’t you spend hours in the library revising the concepts over and over again? You’re fine.” Seungmin reassures him, and the genuine tone in his voice is almost enough for Hyunjin to believe him.

 

“But I failed nearly all the pop quizzes the professor assigned us—I can’t fail this, too.” Hyunjin frets. “This is the first year-end exam!”

 

“Okay, what about this,” Seungmin chews his bottom lip thoughtfully, and it takes all of Hyunjin’s willpower to look away. “If you get higher than me for this exam, I’ll treat you to a meal. You’re pretty much all prepared, you just need to be more confident in yourself.”

 

Hyunjin’s grip on his backpack loosens. “But you’re literally the top of our class! How can I beat you?” He protests. “You wouldn’t know until you try.” Seungmin says, then pats him lightly on the shoulder. “Let’s go.”

 

 

 

 

 

“Time’s up!” The professor announces and collects the exam scripts. “You’re free to go now.”

 

Hyunjin walks down the steps unsteadily and over to the door. Felix is standing outside the lecture theatre with Jisung and Changbin arguing about something inconsequential behind him. “How was the exam?” Felix asks. “It wasn’t too bad, I guess. I probably would have failed without Seungmin.”

 

“I’m glad you know.” Seungmin, walking out from the room, ruffling Hyunjin’s hair. “I’m going now, see you!” Seungmin waves at Felix and Hyunjin and wisely chooses to ignore Jisung and Changbin who are _still_ fighting.

 

“Seungmin! Do you want to go with us?” Hyunjin calls, the words tumbling out of his mouth before he can stop them. Seungmin turns around, smiling apologetically. “I really would, but I promised some of my choir friends that I’d meet them after my exams ended.”

 

“Oh—okay!” Hyunjin manages to stutter out as Seungmin walks off.

 

“Did I just do that?” He whispers in disbelief.

 

Jisung comes up from behind him and gives him a pat on the back ( _completely differently from Seungmin,_ his brain thinks). “Well, I hate being the one to point out the obvious, but seems like our Hyunjin has just experienced his first rejection.” Jisung says with an air of obvious superiority.

 

Hyunjin’s mouth moves but no sound comes out. “I think you broke him,” Felix says cautiously. “Actually, I think Seungmin did.” Changbin notes, and Jisung snorts. “Come on, Hyunjin, let’s go bury your heartbroken sorrows in food.”

 

He lets himself be dragged out by Jisung and Felix, repeating the scenario in his head a million times. _Ah, why did I even open my mouth? Why didn’t I just offer to go out with him?_

 

“Lovesick fool,” Changbin mutters, but he’s too sad to even process his friend’s words.

 

-

 

The test comes back, red scrawls on every page of the paper—but for once, it’s not all negative feedback. He checks the grade on the front page and almost squeals when he sees the bright B+ stamped on the page.

 

“Seungmin!” He hisses, but the boy doesn’t turn around, eyes fixed on his own paper. “Kim Seungmin!” He says a bit louder, and a few people turn around to stare at him in contempt. Seungmin finally turns around, raising his eyebrows.

 

(Seungmin gets an A+, but brings Hyunjin out for food anyway, because he already knew he’d get higher than Hyunjin.)

 

-

 

The chattering in the room dies down as Taeyong claps his hands twice, calling for silence. “From tomorrow onwards, we won’t be practicing in the dance studio, but Block B’s performance theatre instead. There’ll be rehearsals twice a week in order to simulate the size of the stage at the actual festival, and we’ll be doing a full-dress rehearsal with the rest of the acts once a week. Remember, the festival is in three weeks! You’re all free to go, have a nice day!” Taeyong dismisses them.

 

Hyunjin heads to the changing room to shower and pack up, shirt sticking uncomfortably to his skin. He meets Jaemin at the exit of the studio once they’re done and Jaemin sighs dramatically. “That was such a tiring practice.”

 

“Jaem, you literally sat at the side for half the practice. Minho hyung was going through the individual dances and you’re only in one of the dances.” Hyunjin points out, but Jaemin wrinkles his nose, pretending not to hear him.

 

“So, how’s you and Seungmin?” He changes topic smoothly. “We’re okay? Why are you even asking that?” Hyunjin returns.

 

Jaemin shoves Hyunjin’s shoulder. “Come on, I know you’re dumb but not _that_ dumb. Renjun and I literally saw both of you eating together at that restaurant downtown. If that’s not a date, then what is it?”

 

“That’s because he tutored me in Environmental Biology and helped me to pass the course. We’re childhood friends, Jaem, not boyfriends like you and Renjun.” Hyunjin shuts the door of the studio behind him, turning the key in the lock.

 

“Tutoring? Is that how you kids romance each other nowadays?” Jaemin comments, seemingly unaffected by Hyunjin’s jab at him and Renjun. “Anyway, you do realise that we’re going to have rehearsals with choir tomorrow, right?”

 

“So?” Hyunjin shrugs. “Seungmin is in choir.” Jaemin says.

 

-

 

“What happened to your ‘we’re just friends’?” Jaemin whispers too loudly as Hyunjin stares dazedly at the choir entering the performance theatre, Seungmin’s cherry-red hair standing out amongst the crowd.

 

Hyunjin doesn’t get the chance to reply, because four seniors climb on stage, one of the tapping the microphone for attention. “Hi! I’m Sungjin, the band conductor. That’s Doyoung, the choir conductor, Taeyong, the captain of the dance team and the last one’s Chan, the chairperson of the music club. As you all probably know, this is our first combined rehearsal! Doyoung will brief all of you about the event lineup for the festival.”

 

“I can already feel that this is going to be very long, and very long.” Jaemin remarks.

 

-

 

The rehearsal halts when Taeyong looks at the time and freaks out. It’s nearing eight in the evening, and all of the seniors have their last midterm exam tomorrow morning. He taps the microphone against his side and dismisses them hastily, the clean-up crew packing the drum sets and microphone stands behind them.

 

“Hey, are you going back to the dorms? Do you want to grab dinner nearby before going back?” Jaemin holds out Hyunjin’s bag for him. He’s about to agree, but there’s a light tap on his shoulder.

 

“Hyunjin!” The person calls. _Donotfreakoutdonotfreakoutdonotfreakout_ , he chants in his mind, turning around slowly. Seungmin smiles at him with the force of a million suns. “Do you want to go for dinner?”

 

Hyunjin does _not_ freak out, but comes pretty damn close to it, fighting down the blush rising in his cheeks. “Uhm,” he says with remarkable eloquence. “Oh, don’t feel pressured to accept if you have any other plans! It’s just that the other day you asked me if we could grab lunch together but I was busy, and I felt really bad.” Seungmin says.

 

“Yes!” He nearly shouts, then stutters, “I mean, no problem.”

 

“That’s great, then. Does your friend want to come along…?” Seungmin asks, peering around Hyunjin to look at Jaemin. “I wouldn’t want to impose! Have fun, you two.” Although Hyunjin can’t see him, he’s pretty sure his friend is shooting suggestive glances at him. He mentally swears to rip up Jaemin’s next assignment.

 

“So, I know this really cool diner down the road, and they have really good Japanese food. Do you mind?” Seungmin begins walking down the road, hands shoved into his pockets. “Oh, is it the one with speciality yakisoba? Is that still your favourite?” Hyunjin lights up, mind flashing back to all the times Seungmin would plead Aunt Seulgi to make yakisoba for dinner when he slept over.

 

“You remember!” Seungmin laughs delightedly. Hyunjin opens his mouth to say _of course, how could he forget_ , then shuts it. He wasn’t sure how well Seungmin would react to that. “Anyway, we’re here. It’s quite close to campus.”

 

They duck under the drapes covering the entrance, bells chiming as they enter the shop. They sit at a table just large enough for the both of them, slightly away from the chatter of the restaurant. “We both know what I’m ordering, so what do you want to eat?” Seungmin passes him a laminated menu. “I’ll just get the same as you. I kind of miss the noodles Aunt Seulgi used to make.” Seungmin nods, telling the waitress their order when she comes over.

 

“Do you miss Busan?” Hyunjin asks abruptly. The question had been stuck in his head for the past few weeks, and he wondered why Seungmin chose to leave the quiet countryside behind for the city. “Kind of, I guess? As in, I miss the peacefulness and freedom in the countryside but at the same time it was also restraining. There’s only so much I can do there, and the universities in Busan don’t have a good Geography course. I think I’m happier here than in Busan—partly because of you.” Seungmin muses.

 

“Me?” Hyunjin says hoarsely. “Yeah. I know you only spent three months in Busan, but you were one of my only friends there. I knew you’d be going to Seoul University so I just,” Seungmin coughs awkwardly, leaning his cheek on a hand, “Of course, also because of the fact that Woojin hyung is teaching here. How—how about you?”

 

“There’s nowhere else in Korea that offers a good bio-medical course than Seoul University. But,” Hyunjin looks to the side, the tip of his ears burning, “I also—I really hoped that I’d see you here. I knew it was just a tiny sliver of hope, but it’s the best university in the country, and you—you’re very smart, so I guess I just thought…” Hyunjin trails off as their food arrives, and they pick up their cutlery.

 

Seungmin struggles to break his chopsticks apart, and Hyunjin snorts at him. “You’re still bad at using chopsticks, aren’t you?”

 

“And you still eat like a pig, don’t you?” Seungmin shoots back, and Hyunjin can’t deny it. “I’m always _hungry_ , okay?” Hyunjin mumbles through a mouthful of noodles. Seungmin tells him off for talking with his mouth full and they eat in companionable silence for a while, punctuated by the noises of chewing and spoons scraping against the plates.

 

“I was wondering—please don’t take this offensively—but it seems like you’ve changed from when you were young?” Hyunjin says tentatively after he’s swallowed a bite. Seungmin tilts his head and raises an eyebrow.  
  


“Like, not in a bad way. Back then, you used to be kind of closed-off or distant at times? But now you seem to be way more confident and you actually willingly talk to me. It’s a good thing! Just, different.” Hyunjin crosses his fingers and hopes that Seungmin wouldn’t be annoyed at him.

 

“Ah, yeah. It’s true, actually. Because when we were kids you were always the one coming up to me and putting in effort to be friends, and now I feel like it’s my turn to do that. I owe you a lot for bringing me out of my shell—I used to be really reclusive, and hyung was always telling me to go out and make friends, but you were the only one who actually bothered being with me.” Seungmin turns slightly pink after finishing, scratching the back of his neck. “Did I say too much?”

 

Hyunjin’s heart is doing something weird in his chest, the staccato beat thumping against his ribs and he rubs his sweaty palms against his jeans. “N-no. I don’t know—I wasn’t sure if I was anything more than an annoying kid who bothered you all day long so this—this was really nice to hear.” He turns about as pink as Seungmin.

 

“Look at us being all sentimental and reminiscing about our childhood. We’re not even twenty yet!” Seungmin laughs. “I’m pretty sure I’ve said this before, but I’m really glad to have met you again.”

 

“Me too,” Hyunjin says.

 

“Hey, I almost forgot, but I heard through the grapevine that you were late to a class because of _bowel_ problems?” With that, Seungmin dissolves the almost melancholy atmosphere. “Oh my god, who told you about that? That was just an excuse for oversleeping!” Hyunjin groans.

 

Seungmin snorts, and Hyunjin should _not_ find that attractive, but he does. “Sure it is.” He says agreeably, eyes sparkling with mischief.

 

And as Hyunjin looks at the boy in front of him, with eyes that shine brighter than stars and laugh more beautiful than anything, he realises with part disbelief and part happiness that he’s falling for his childhood friend once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all ive been doing for the past few weeks is reading bnha fics. if u like shigaraki (yeah the villain) or shinsou or todoroki or anyone in the anime please hmu. bc of my friend i am a Converted Anime Stan!  
> a few notes abt this chap hehe
> 
> in the intro of part 2, pink camellias symbolise a longing for someone redwood represents forever
> 
> the song that hyunlix danced is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJNP9l6k688
> 
> the choreo they perform is a mashup of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oC8UJB_LeZM (santa tell me) and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5_Ca_f4Kto (santa claus is coming, cover by justin bieber) just imagine theyre doing it group by group (abt 5 ppl at once on stage) with transitions! 
> 
> (ps. yes! na jaemins pink hair from we go up is the SUPERIOR look)
> 
> okay yeah i have 1 more chap left...havent even started on it yet cause i lost inspo like really. not even sure if i have enough energy or ideas or capacity left to write it but ill try hehe thank you for reading this!! (if theres any grammatical mistakes or anyth pls tell me ashxihfsh) stan seungjin (◕ ω ◕✿)


	3. i like to think i have everything (i want from this life)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *walks in 6 months late* wassup! please tolerate this i kind of wanted to get it over bc im starting on a new seungjin fic...right after i just finished my dojae one...haha...but hope its still enjoyable-ish! <3

_part iii, home_

The ground is thick and heavy with a coat of snow, crunching beneath Seungmin’s boots and leaving behind deep impressions. He pulls his beanie firmly down over his ears, teeth chattering slightly. Beside him, Hyunjin is bundled with even more layers of clothes, with what seemed like two winter parkas on top of many sweaters.

 

“I must look really ridiculous right now.” Hyunjin says, words muffled by his face mask. Really, the only visible part of his entire body are his eyes—and even then, he’s wearing sunglasses to ‘stop the wind’ from making him tear up.

 

“Nah, don’t worry. It’s not your fault you have a terrible immune system.” Seungmin grins, and Hyunjin furrows his eyebrows and scrunches up his face.  “Oh, I know what you’re going to do—hey—don’t do it—stop!” Hyunjin shifts down his mask and sneezes right in Seungmin’s face.

 

“Now let’s see who falls sick first!” Hyunjin crows triumphantly and runs off, his bag bumping against his shoulder with every step. “Not gonna fall into his childish trap.” He mutters resolutely.

 

“Last one to reach the rehearsal venue has to buy chicken!” Hyunjin screams, getting a few weird stares.

 

“Goddamnit, Jinnie.” Seungmin sighs, and takes off after him.

 

-

 

They reach the performance theatre almost neck and neck, but Hyunjin stubbornly insists that he’d touched the door handle first. Seungmin huffs and lets him win—because he’s kind and gracious, definitely not because Hyunjin pouted at him.

 

Hyunjin’s pink-haired friend waves him over, and he bounds off with the energy of an excitable puppy, but not before reminding Seungmin to buy him chicken later on.

 

Seungmin watches Hyunjin go with a complete deadpan face. “Stop staring, Seungmin. You’ve already proved you’re a huge softie.” His choir friend snaps his fingers in front of his face. Huang Renjun is a ten-foot tall nightmare hidden in the body of a small gremlin, and every time Seungmin brings this up, Renjun pinches him in the side until Seungmin’s crying for him to let go.

 

“Coming from you? That isn’t saying mu—” Renjun clamps his hand over Seungmin’s mouth. “Don’t ruin my bad boy rep, or I’ll expose all the moments when your voice cracked during practice. I have it all on video.”

 

“Bad boy rep? Yeah, sure.” Seungmin mumbles.

 

“What was that?” Renjun hisses. Seungmin shakes his head mutely.

 

Seungmin’s saved from Renjun full-on mauling him when Doyoung calls them to stand in their positions on stage, and is let off with only an elbow to the chest. “This is the final run before the Winter Festival itself, so perform as if it’s the real thing!” Doyoung says encouragingly, and the choir cheers, with Seungmin whispering a sarcastic ‘yay’ at the back. Doyoung, of course, hears it, and sends him a scathing look.

 

-

 

On the day of the performance itself, it’s snowing heavily. Again. Approximately no one is surprised, which is why they’d booked the indoor performance theatre for the festival. Backstage is a flurry of volunteer makeup assistants rushing around with foundation pads and eyeshadow brushes in their hands, and a senior dancer runs past them, screaming and with half-caked foundation on his face. Seungmin doesn’t really want to know why. Sound technicians run around too, but more carefully due to the equipment they’re carrying. Various coloured X’s have been pre-marked out on the stage floor, demarcating the different positions for the different performances.

 

He sits on a stool in front of the mirror, idly scrolling through his phone. Renjun sits on the sofa (where’d they get a sofa from?) on the opposite end of the room, snoring lightly with his mouth slightly open. The fact that he can sleep peacefully while everyone else is freaking out about the performances is an amazing feat in Seungmin’s eyes.

 

A message pops up on his screen.

 

**jinnie the prince of ur heart:** how’s things going on your side?

 

Seungmin snorts quietly. Hyunjin had set his own name one day during lunch after stealing his phone, and then set Seungmin’s own name for him.

 

**minnie ew:** I swear I just saw one of your seniors run past me screaming, and Renjun is snoring nearby. Tell Jaemin his boyfriend is drooling.

 

**jinnie the prince of ur heart:** LMAO i think that’s Hoshi. i think he’s looking for the producer but the producer is avoiding him.

 

**jinnie the prince or ur heart:** omg no wonder. jaemin is frantically texting sum1 but theyre not replying HAH must be renjun

 

**minnie ew:** lol

 

**jinnie the prince or ur heart:** :< boring

 

**minnie ew:** lol

 

**jinnie the prince or ur heart:** :ccccccccccc

 

**minnie ew:** lol

 

**jinnie the prince or ur heart:** wish me good luck! i think dance is going up first aAA im so nervous

 

**minnie ew:** Break a leg

 

After some thought, he sends another message.

 

**minnie ew:** If u mess up on stage I’ll record it and send it to Aunt Seulgi and she’ll send it to everyone we know.

 

**jinnie the prince or ur heart:** aWWW SEUNGMIN u do care abt me ur such an ùwú

 

**minnie ew:** k

 

**minnie ew:** Heard them announce the first performance. U can do it I guess

 

**jinnie the prince or ur heart:** xd thank u u too bye!

 

 

 

Putting his phone down, he nudges Renjun awake. “Your boyfriend’s gone on stage already.” He wakes up with a start, arm coming up to wipe away traces of drool on his cheek. “Is it our turn yet?” Renjun mumbles blearily.

 

“Not yet, but do you want to watch their performance from the wings?” Seungmin tugs on Renjun’s dress jacket, and the shorter boy gets up, joints popping. “Man, why’re you so tired? Someone keeping you up?” Seungmin teases, and it’s so worth it when Renjun’s face flushes a bright red.

 

They hurry to the stage wings just as the curtains sweep open, and the opening beat plays.

 

-

 

Their own performance is a flurry of nerves, adrenaline and applause. Their first item is over before they know it, then the second, the third and suddenly they’re doing their closing act. Seungmin is almost overwhelmed with the melody of voices in the air—the atmosphere was so different from normal rehearsals, and his blood sings with the sheer excitement and delight in the middle of it all.

 

And then, it’s the final bow, and all the performances trickle on stage. Someone tosses a flower at his feet, and he looks up to see a blur of faces, some familiar ones among them.

 

Someone links a finger with his. “Hey, that was a really good performance just now.” Hyunjin has to raise his voice slightly to be heard over the cheers of the crowd. “Thanks, you too.” Seungmin cracks a small smile. On the count of three, all the performers on stage bow, and exit stage left.

 

Just like that, their first semester in university comes to an end.

 

-

 

“Hey, Aunt Seulgi. Yeah, yeah, I know I haven’t called you in a while, yeah, I miss you. What? Oh, Kkami misses me? Aww, tell my baby I miss her too.” Hyunjin makes kissy noises into the phone, smiling fondly. Across the room, Felix pauses his texting to laugh at him. _What would Seungmin say if he saw you with that ridiculous face?_ He mouths, and Hyunjin flips him off.

 

Aunt Seulgi is still speaking on the phone, and Hyunjin presses the speaker to his ear again. “What? What did you say, sorry? Go back to Busan?” At this, Felix stops texting and looks up, raising his eyebrow.

 

“With Seungmin?” Hyunjin just short of screeches, and Felix scrambles off his chair and squeezes up to Hyunjin, straining to hear their conversation.

 

_“Yeah, heard from Woojin—you know, Seungmin’s brother—that you’re all buddy-buddy with him again now. Do you still have that crush on him?”_

 

Hyunjin gapes in betrayal, and Felix snorts. “Knew you had a crush on him since then. Starting young, huh?”

 

_“Seungmin’s parents are also wondering why they haven’t seen or heard from their baby boy in ages and who’s monopolising all his time. You can bring along your other friends to third wheel, if you’d like.”_

Felix hooks an arm around Hyunjin’s shoulders and says into the phone, “Hi, I’m Hyunjin’s friend, Felix? Can we really go?” Hyunjin glares at him, but Felix isn’t even looking at him.

 

_“Hey, Felix! I don’t see why not, we have quite a few spare rooms in our house. Plus I’m sure you know all about Hyunjin and Seungmin at this point of time, maybe you can update this old woman about them, huh?”_

“Of course!” Felix giggles excitedly, way too excited at the fact that he has the chance to out his best friend.

 

_“Okay, I gotta go now. Tell Hyunjin he’d better come or I’ll text Seungmin all his ugly embarrassing pictures!”_

With that, she hangs up, and Hyunjin is left blinking and the blank screen. “I’m so pumped! We can ask Changbin and Jisung to come along with us—and Seungmin, of course, and I’ve heard so many cool things about Busan! Bet there’s enough romantic places for us to go on double dates, and…”

 

_This is going to be a catastrophic winter break,_ Hyunjin despairs. Nothing short of a Christmas miracle would make up for the embarrassment he would suffer.

 

-

 

“I’m going to tell you something, and you can say no. You can totally say no to this. Actually, please say no to this.” Hyunjin near begs, while Felix, Jisung and Changbin stare, unimpressed, at him. “So, are you gonna actually say it or do we need to wait another year?” Changbin deadpans.

 

Hyunjin takes a deep breath. “My aunt invited all of you, including Seungmin, to come to Busan for winter break. I know it’s kind of short notice, so it’s completely okay if you can’t come. It’s probably even better, because then there won’t be anyone to embarrass me.”

 

There’s a moment by silence, interrupted only by Jisung giving the loudest sigh. “Hyunjin, if by now you still think that we’d willingly pass up a chance to make fun of you, you are _so_ wrong.”

 

“Yeah, Aunt Seulgi was really cool about it. Also, I’ve seen so many adorable photos of Kkami and I really want to meet her in real life!” Felix nods his head thoughtfully, and Changbin mutters something along the lines of _yeah whatever you’re cuter_. Hyunjin doesn’t particularly want to know.

 

“Great, it’s settled then! Let’s start packing cause I wanna go as soon as possible!” Jisung cheers, and Hyunjin shoots off a text to his aunt telling her about the _situation_ , sighing loudly. It seemed like the sole reason his friends existed was to annoy him.

 

Well, whatever. It’s not like they would actually succeed in embarrassing him.

 

-

 

Hyunjin had been wrong. He had been so, _so_ wrong. He really should think before saying things like that, because it was highly likely that he’d end up jinxing himself.

 

He sinks deeper into the backseat of Jisung’s old and beat-up Toyota Camry (he could almost hear Jisung squawking in outrage at him insulting his car). Beside him, Changbin has his laptop open to one of his latest song compositions, but he himself leaning against the window, snoring softly. Hyunjin shakes his head exasperatedly, reaching over to gently close his laptop.

 

Focusing his attention on the rest of his friends again, he tunes in to their conversation. “—and this is Hyunjin sleeping in his Pokémon onesie but with the zipper at the back unzipped because his arms were too short to reach the back—”

 

“Okay, I think that’s enough.” Hyunjin shoves a hand over Felix’s mouth, laughing nervously. “Oh, I think I have a picture of him in diapers even at 5 years old because his mom was mad that he kept wetting the bed at night.” Jisung says distractedly, swerving the car just in time to avoid a stray dog running across the street. Changbin wakes up with a start, but goes right back to sleep.

 

“Can you just concentrate on driving and stop ruining Seungmin’s impression of me?” Hyunjin wails despondently. Seungmin snorts in the front seat. “Bold of you to assume that there’s any good impression of you left to ruin. Did you guys know that Hyunjin once sprained his ankle in Busan because he tried to pull a Tarzan and climb up a tree?”

 

Hyunjin wants to stick his head out of the car window and scream, but doing that would be really inappropriate, and it would wake Changbin up again. So instead, as a last-ditch attempt to save his dignity, he says, “You still remember that till now? You really missed me, didn’t you? And these days, instead of me having to beg to spend time with you, you actually ask me to hang out together.”

 

He’s expecting Seungmin to turn around and pinch him, or maybe retaliate by pulling out a particularly ridiculous photo of Hyunjin, but what he doesn’t expect is for Seungmin to nod thoughtfully. “Actually, yeah. It’s exactly because when we were kids you were the one coming to bother me and make friends, so now I feel like it’s my turn.”

 

The entire car falls silent for about 0.1 seconds, interrupted only by a particularly loud exhale of a sleeping Changbin. “Are we watching a k-drama or something?” Felix whispers to Jisung.

 

“Also, don’t let this get to your head, but when I first saw you in that environmental biology class, I almost didn’t recognise you because you really grew up from that skinny kid to—to what you are now.” Seungmin shrugs.

 

“I wasn’t that surprised when I realised we were in the same class. You know, because you were already a cute kid, and you just became cuter.” Hyunjin winks at Seungmin, only to receive a raised eyebrow. _Goddamnit,_ why does his heart have to beat so fast? Any faster and they’d all be able to hear it.

 

He catches Jisung scrunching up his face in the front mirror, and shaking his head. “That is very inaccurate. After you met him, you freaked out for the entire period and then when you actually approached him, you laid face-down in your bed for the rest of the day.” Jisung interjects.

 

“Definitely a k-drama.” Felix says to himself.

 

Yeah, Hyunjin really shouldn’t have jinxed himself. Or maybe he just needs to find new friends.

 

-

 

He falls asleep somewhere during the six-hour trip, leaning his head on Changbin’s shoulder, and getting an uncomfortable strain in his neck when he wakes up because Changbin is just too short. He opens his eyes to see Jisung and Seungmin arguing over the location of Aunt Seulgi’s house. “Jisung, I literally lived down the street from him. The location you think it’s at is probably halfway across Busan. Just take the next damn turning!” Seungmin jabs a finger into the paper map.

 

Grumbling, Jisung turns the steering wheel, and in the near distance Hyunjin can already see the house. “That’s the one!” He points. “Told you so.” Seungmin crumples up the map and throws the ball at Jisung’s head. The double-story detached terrace draws closer, and Hyunjin can see the exact same potted plants—petunias and pink carnations, does Aunt ever change the plants or are they just fake plants? —sitting on the ledge.

 

They pull into the driveway, and Changbin wakes up with a grunt when Hyunjin pulls on his ear. “We’re here!” He chirps, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. The moment the car comes to a stop, he flings open the door and runs to the gate. “Aunt Seulgi!” He yells, ringing the doorbell.

 

Kkami answers before she does, and the skittering of her claws on the flooring is the only warning he gets before she pushes her way out of the doggie door, squeezing through the gaps in the gate to run up to Hyunjin. “Baby, did you miss me?” He croons, picking her up from the floor and nuzzling her to his chest. She barks excitedly, spittle flying everywhere. “I missed you so much!” He kisses her nose, and Kkami licks his face eagerly.

 

“I want to pet her too!” Felix reaches out for her, and Hyunjin reluctantly passes Kkami over to him. “Hello cutie, my name is Felix!” The boy hugs Kkamito his chest.

 

“Hyunjin!” Aunt Seulgi calls out, stepping out of the house in pajamas and bedroom slippers. “You’ve grown so much!” She slides open the lock on the gate and reaches out for Hyunjin, hugging him and ruffling his hair. “You too, Aunt.” Hyunjin says, smiling.

 

“Don’t tease an old lady like me,” She frowns, “You must be at least half a foot taller than me by now.” Letting go of Hyunjin, she scans his friends and waves when she sees Seungmin. “You’ve grown too! Ah, you teenage boys make me feel so young.” She jokes.

 

“Aunt, you still look as young as you were ten years ago!” Seungmin says, smiling sweetly. Hyunjin furrows his eyebrows and whispers _suck up_ at Seungmin.

 

“And this must be Felix, Jisung and Changbin! I’m so glad to be able to meet all of my Hyunjin’s friends.” She beams. “Hyunjin, why don’t you and Seungmin go inside to help your friends set up their things? I can show them around the house for a while!”

 

-

 

Huffing, Hyunjin stops halfway up the stairs, two suitcases dragging behind him. _What the hell did Jisung put into the bag?_ _His incomplete assignments?_   “Hurry up, we still have to show them to my house!” Seungmin says, not even remotely out of breath as he pulls his own, Felix’s and Changbin’s suitcases up the stairs. Hyunjin stares in awe as he carries three suitcases in one hand, the other hand holding lightly to the railing. “You need help with those?” Seungmin calls, already halfway inside his room.

 

“No, I’m good.” Hyunjin groans, feeling his bones already creaking as he pulls the suitcases up the stairs, wheels screeching on the wooden flooring. “Let me help.” Seungmin appears beside him, lifting Jisung’s (probably at least thirty kilograms) suitcase with one hand, and hooking his fingers around Hyunjin’s wrist with the other. Numbly, Hyunjin trots after the black-haired boy.

 

_Ah_ , he thinks weakly. _This is going to be a lot of trouble._ His old Park Jinyoung posters are up on the walls, the peeling paper indicating the age of the merchandise, with photo frames of Seungmin lining the shelves. Aunt Seulgi had obviously set all of this up just to embarrass him.

 

“We’re here—woah.” Jisung bursts through the door, blue hair flopping messily over his face.

 

“That’s…a lot.” Changbin says critically, inspecting one particularly ugly picture, where he’s making an ugly face at the camera and Seungmin is watching in silent judgment from behind. “I knew you were into Jinyoung, but I didn’t know you were this obsessed.” Felix remarks, fingering at the corner of one poster where Hyunjin had written in bold black sharpie; _PROPERTY OF HWANG HYUNJIN_.

 

Miserably, Hyunjin covers his face with his hands, sitting back on the bed with a resigned sigh. He hears the click and flash of the camera, and just _knows_ that Jisung is taking a million pictures to embarrass him with, but he just can’t bring himself to care at this point. “I think this is cute!” The aforementioned boy giggles, and Hyunjin looks up to see his finger pointing at the one photo he hates with all his soul. In the picture, he’s sleeping soundly, a leg and both arms draped over Seungmin, who’s awake and black-faced from the heavy, unmoving lump lying on him. “Would you let me do that to you, Seungmin?” Jisung says, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

 

“No. I’ve seen you at the dorms, and you only shower once every week.” Seungmin says matter-of-factly. “It’s true, but you shouldn’t say it.” Jisung shrugs. A companionable silence falls over the four of them, Felix squatting on the floor to tickle Kkami, Jisung and Changbin silently judging his pictures, and Seungmin—

 

Seungmin, who’s staring straight at him, the glint in his eyes soft in a way Hyunjin rarely sees when they’re together. Most of the time, there’s an exasperated slant of his lips, a minute downward twitch in his eyebrow when someone says something remotely stupid. Hyunjin finds himself unable to tear his gaze away from his quiet, unassuming yet captivating gaze. Then, the corner of Seungmin’s lips tilt upwards, a hint of contentment and happiness. Unknowingly, Hyunjin mirrors his smile, running a hand through his hair in an attempt to hide his flustered state.

 

_I’m a fool_ , Hyunjin thinks weakly.

 

\--

 

The break passes by ridiculously fast.

 

Felix and Jisung are overly delighted by the rolling fields next to the houses, screaming and running around like headless chickens. In particular, Jisung’s newly-found favourite hobby was gathering piles of snow and jumping into it, seemingly immune to the biting cold.

 

( _Be nice_ , Seungmin chastises.)

 

Changbin sits in the shade of the grove of trees, their leaves stripped from the branches, laptop placed precariously on the rock. _A good place for inspiration_ , he claims, while staring at Felix roll across the meadow. He’s bundled up in layers of winter wear, with multiple scarves wrapped ten times around his neck. When they try to offer Jisung and Felix gloves and scarves, both of them turn their noses up at it. _Real men don’t need protection from the cold,_ Jisung claims. Hyunjin can’t wait to see them fall sick.

 

Seungmin and Hyunjin bring them to the beach once, but Felix squeals and jumps away from the shore when he sees a crab scuttling sideways, hands flailing. Jisung and Changbin, both city boys, wrinkle their noses at the rows of seaweed lining the shore, and Hyunjin has a hell of a time laughing at Changbin when the elder boy squeaks as the frosty waves brush against the hem of his jeans.

 

“I guess it’s just you and me, then.” Hyunjin says one day to Seungmin, sprawled across the outcropping of rocks, thick fleece blanket pulled over both of them, the night sky twinkling above them. Seungmin smiles.

 

\--

 

On the last day of their winter break, Seungmin and Hyunjin go back to the beach for the last time. It had just begun to snow, thin layer of frost coating the trees, but the water had yet to freeze up.

 

They lie on the rocks, a triple layer of blankets piled on them. Hyunjin wriggles closer to Seungmin, claiming that ‘sharing body heat’ was important during the winter.

 

“I’m a bio-medical major, I would know!” He defends, when Seungmin shoots him a sceptical look but lets Hyunjin snuggle into him anyway. They’re quiet for some time, the sound of the waves breaking against the coast filling the silence between them.

 

It’s snowing lightly, but the sky is clear, the occasional cloud dotting the horizon. The sun peeks through a cloud, the shimmering water reflecting the sunlight and casting the ocean beautiful pastel hues. Hyunjin is reminded of the day he left Busan several years ago, saying _goodbye_ to Busan and Seungmin, his twelve-year-old self tearing up multiple times. Seven years later, he finds himself in a similar position, due to leave Busan by the next day’s dawn.

 

But this time, he’d have Seungmin with him.

 

“Jinnie?” Seungmin breaks the tranquil silence first, turning over to look at Hyunjin.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“I’ve been thinking about something for the past week, and I think you should hear it.” Hyunjin nods encouragingly.

 

“You know, between spending half my childhood in Busan and the other half in Seoul, I’ve wondered where—what home really is to me. I always thought I’d never find my true home, but,” Seungmin pauses, the smile Hyunjin loved so much appearing on his face, looking from the sun and back to Hyunjin, “I think I’ve found it.”

 

 

_fin._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and thats a wrap! thought this was gna be a short one-shot like max 7k but now its nearing 20k...cant control my word vomit haha thanks to those who stayed till the end, i rlly hope it was worth it :’')

**Author's Note:**

> was supposed to post the first chapter after my exams...i guess not anymore! but yeah this will be a 3-chaptered fic (ill legit stick to my word and finish it in 3 chaps this time ;; lol) im pretty sure this isnt going to be those kind of angsty fics but ok ill see what i can do! fic title from literally the fic title by fun.
> 
> ps i will add a better summary...soon...when im less than 90% brain-dead... 
> 
> thank u for reading this sad excuse of a seungjin fic! <3


End file.
